Two Pack II: Teen Wolf Season Four
by lordtrayus
Summary: The Nogitsune is gone, Scott and Isaac are back together, and Stiles has gone back to normal. But, rather than deal with the grief of losing Allison, Scott's pack has to contend with Derek's imprisonment, former foes of the twins trying to settle scores, and taming Malia. But worst of all is a new enemy coming to town, bringing with them an old friend who could destroy them all...
1. Synopsis and Episode Guide

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack Season Two Synopsis

**Still recovering from the battle with the evil Nogitsune and the shocking loss of Allison, Scott's pack has grown into its role as the defender of Beacon Hills. Still haunted by Allison's death however, the pack is vulnerable to a new enemy, someone as twisted and malevolent as all of their former foes, who has the one thing none of them had, an ally who knows the pack very well. As new foes gather around the pack and the malevolent energy of the Ghost Pack puts the pack on the defensive, Scott must prove to his pack, and more importantly to himself, that he is worthy of being a True Alpha.**

**Episode 1- Territory:**

The pack grow into their role, lacrosse tryouts occupy the pack, Scott's grandmother comes for a visit and malevolent new enemies make their way to Beacon Hills

**Episode 2- Silence:**

An old friend reappears in the most unexpected way, a new mentor has arrived for one of the pack, and the Ghost Pack make their first move

**Episode 3- Revenant:**

The past has a terrible effect on the pack's present, the Ghost Pack make a bold move, and Liam and his friends are caught in a crossfire

**Episode 4- Fraternity:**

The McCall house hosts a very unexpected guest, Peter begins to creep into the head of Lydia and Malia, and the corruption of the nemeton starts to take its toll

**Episode 5- Maternity:**

Lydia endures her first test, Derek tries to clear his name and the Callavera clan make their presence known to the town as events start to spiral out of control

**Episode 6- Alliance:**

The pack learn some painful realities about the world that they live in, a secret is revealed and a final enemy comes for vengeance

**Episode 7- Grim:**

Stiles sense of isolation leads him to make a fateful decision, tensions begin to affect the pack and Ifrit enacts his revenge

**Episode 8- Corruption:**

The Pombero ups her game in sheer frustration, Stiles finds solace in his new friends, and Agravaine demonstrates the true extent of his evil

**Episode 9- Echo:**

Hollis becomes steadily more desperate, Lydia proves her worth and the pack changes forever as secrets are exposed

**Episode 10- Alliance:**

The pack tries to cope with the unexpected revelation, Peter's plan moves into the final stages and the adults of the pack fight their own battle

**Episode 11- Raptor:**

The fallout of the showdown shakes the entire pack to its very core, Bonnie makes a decision that will affect everyone's futures and the Callavera clan prepares to end the supernatural in Beacon Hills once and for all

**Episode 12- Wildfire:**

A beleaguered pack heads for the final confrontation, Martagh and her allies challenge Agravaine's corruption and a bitter feud comes to a bloody end

**Hi folks! I finally figured out how to shift it and put this in the start where it belongs, thank goodness i forgot to make the chapter last night part 1, i found it when i changed it. The only thing is i now dont know if those of you who left reviews on specific chapters if the entire thing will still apply, but we can cope.  
**

**Anyway, hope you like this little episode guide, sorry anyone who thought this was an actual update chapter, i did that last night and im good, but not that good.  
**

**Ill update the actual story soon, and until then please remember to favourite, follow and review!  
**


	2. Opening Credits and Cast List

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Opening Credits

A black background, flashing orange before showing a dark brown wolf with shining red eyes and then a closeup of Scott's eye, starting brown and then turning Alpha red

**Tyler Posey**: steps out of a blazing red fire, claws extended with a spiral of red flame swirling around each arm, eyes red as he stands legs slightly apart

**Dylan O'Brien**: materialises out of a royal blue fire, a black Oni sword in his right hand and a metal gauntlet on his left, looking angry while his jeep burns with royal blue flame in the background

Razor sharp black feathers fall towards a burning yellow flame

**Daniel Sharman**: kisses Scott and somersaults out of a swirl of white fire, landing on the ground, claws extending from the hand hes leaning on and a ring dagger in his other outstretched arm

The dark brown wolf roars into the air angrily as fire licks at it and feathers descend around it

**Tyler Hoechlin**: shirtless, turning and roaring with sweat flying off him as white flames lick at his body

**Holland Roden**: gesturing with one hand while she screams, a cascade of royal blue fire falling around her and parting around her and the flames coalesce into blue fingers that clutch at her

A pane of glass shatters and the cracks splinter out like a spider web, all burning a sickly yellow flame

**Arden Cho**: one hand raised to protect her chest while the other wields her sword, which she has pointed in a ninja pose over her head, red fire engulfing the blade while jets of crimson fire shoot up and surround her

Derek's treskalion tattoo is formed from a sizzling red fire on his back, Scott's double ring tattoo is formed by a stream of royal blue fire arcing around his arm and another tattoo, this time two lightning bolts together is formed by white fire licking around the skin

A pair of sickly yellow eyes then burn through the smoke with poisonous green flames igniting beneath them

Scott's entire face is shown with his eyes going red

Teen Wolf in white with a burning poisonous looking flame raging behind it and licking at the letters

Teen Wolf Season Four Cast

**Scott's Pack**

Scott- Tyler Posey

Stiles- Dylan O'Brien

Isaac- Daniel Sharman

Lydia- Holland Roden

Kira- Arden Cho

Aiden- Max Carver

Ethan- Charlie Carver

Danny- Keahu Kahuanui

Derek- Tyler Hoechlin

Malia- Shelley Hennig

**Pack Adults**

Melissa- Melissa Ponzio

John Stillinski- Linden Ashby

Kyle Parrish- Ryan Kelley

Alan Deaton- Seth Gilliam

Braeden- Meagan Tandy

Chris Argent- JR Bourne

Martagh- Marta Ciesielska

**Special Guest Stars**

Jackson- Colton Haynes

?- Nathaniel Buzolic

Rakaisha- Angel Coulby

Allegra Delgado- Mary McDonnell

Alastair- Colin Salmon

Cindy- Gillian Anderson

**New Students**

Melody- Alexa Vega

Liam- Dylan Sprayberry

Garrett- Mason Dye

Mason- Khylin Rhambo

Violet- Samantha Logan

**Enemies**

Peter Hale- Ian Bohen

Agravaine- Aneurin Barnard

Malakai- Miles Teller

Rhyley- Ansel Elgort

Eoghan- Will Mellor

Ciara- Janet Montgomery

Bonnie- Lindsay Duncan

Thane- Tom Hopper

Thomas Hollis- Aiden Turner

The Pombero- Charisma Carpenter

Ifrit- Oded Fehr

**Recurring Cast- Beacon Hills Students**

Caleb- Freddie Stroma

Adam- Brenton Thwaites

Levi- Chase Ellison

Danielle- Shantal Rhodes

Scarlett- Maia Mitchell

Diane- Ariana Grande

Emily- Bella Thorne

**Recurring Cast- Other Students**

Brett- Cody Saintgnue

Jake- Austin James

Killian- Liam James

Belle- Stefanie Scott

**Recurring Cast- Adults**

Caitlin- Zelda Williams

Mrs Yukimura- Tamlyn Tomita

Dexio- Luke Pasqalino

Clyde- Patton Oswalt

Charles- Ron Glass

Opal- Ruth Negga

**Recurring Cast- Beacon High**

Mrs Martin- Susan Walters

Coach Finstock- Orny Adams

Mr Yukimura- Tom Choi

Ms Morrell- Bianca Lawson

**Recurring Cast- Sheriff's Department**

Deputy Haigh- Lou Ferrigno

Deputy Sands- Will Tudor

Deputy Claris- Bex Taylor Klaus

Deputy Elba- TC Carson

**Recurring Cast- Hunters**

Natasha- Eliza Dushku

Gareth Sparsan- Eoin Macken

Amanda O'Neill- Cynthia Addai Robinson

Maggie Evans- Susanna Thompson

**Well we all knew I would be back!**

**Obviously I have too much time on my hands, but here we are, with a sort of guide to season four, considering I was introducing new characters and basing them on actors from other shows, I thought a cast list would be helpful. Now, the one who plays Marta is a good friend of mine but the rest are all out there to be seen and visualised so I hope this helps as we go on!**

**Now as the show hasnt announced all the characters that are in it yet that I plan to use such as Deputy Haigh for example some members have been left off for the moment. There are also one shot character appearances who would give the game away if I put them up so Ill hope you forgive me for not including them. Anyway, these are just the people I see as portraying them in my head so I hope it helps as we go on through the story, and I also hope you dont think im being too out there putting this up, its just a guide to help you and me since i dont partiucarly like long drawn out explanations unless the situation requires it. **

**Obviously, if I had any control over Teen Wolf casting Daniel Sharman and the twins (thank you shdwwlf32) would still be on the show**

**I also hope you like my opening credits, as you can see, fire is rather important this season (and the colours of the flames might give you a clue to our enemies this season) and plays a rather crucial role, and the feathers, and the fingers grasping Lydia all mean something too. I also dont have Shelley Hennig on my opening credits, but I think six is enough for now**

**Anyway, hope you like this, and Im away right now to start writing Two Pack II/Teen Wolf Season Four (its sad but I'm kind of excited by it)**

**Enjoy the story and reviews to tell me what you think of the cast and opening credits would be very appreciated!**

**Edit: Cast list has been updated to cover the new people**


	3. Episode 1: Territory Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf to my ever lasting dismay**

Two-Pack II

The moon was high in the sky, though mostly hidden by dark, stormy thunderclouds. Called the Dark Moon, the moon was currently at a point where it was the least visible in the sky, and was meant to signify a time of reflection and grief.

However, there was no time for reflection tonight, and the thudding sounds of many pairs of feet running around the woods were echoing through the entire reserve as the moon dappled the fallen leaves, the breath of all those within the forest that night visible in front of them. Silvery light occasionally washed over them as the noises of a forest rife with intruders echoed through the barren trees, the sounds of fallen leaves rising and falling with each footfall reaching the ears of the boy standing on top of an overlook, giving him an impressive view of the glittering town of Beacon Hills below him.

He was clad in a black long sleeved tshirt, jeans rippling in the wind as it whistled through the forest, a leather jacket wrapped around him as he stood, his tan skin cold in the night air. His hair, dark brown in colour, was styled with gel and combed to the side as opposed to his usual spiked fringe. The wind whistling through the wind did nothing to deter him as he scented and strained to get any sign of any of the intruders that were in the forest tonight. He stood on the overlook which had once meant so much to him, ears straining for any sound, and upon hearing the roar, his eyes opened revealing a glowing crimson.

"It's another Alpha alright." He said confidently, his eyes trailing to the guy standing beside him.

Slightly taller than he was, he was clad in a black vneck tshirt with black jeans, having come straight from work. He was also clad in a leather jacket, complete with a dark blue scarf that was wrapped snugly around his long neck, but unlike the Alpha beside him, he had a quiver on his back, filled with exploding arrows and arrows with silver tips. Pale in the moonlight, his dark blond hair swept away from his forehead to give him a quiff, he turned and looked at his boyfriend in concern.

"Yeah, but friend or foe?" he asked and Scott shrugged.

"Only one way to find out." He replied as Isaac readied an arrow in the bow he had brought with him.

In the three months since Allison had died at the hands of the Oni, Isaac had been using the various weapons left to him by her father, figuring they ought to do the pack some good while he was away in France. As a result, to Scott's delight (and slight arousal), Isaac had been practicing with these various weapons and had become more than proficient in handling a bow and arrow, though admittedly a smaller version than the one Allison could use, a crossbow, but his favourite weapon by far was the ring daggers that Allison had once stabbed him with several times, one of which was now in a pocket in the sleeve of his jacket and the other in the sock of his boot. Since Allison's death and Chris' departure for France, Isaac had been training with each of the weapons in turn, becoming a much more deadly force to be reckoned with than he had been previously.

While at first Scott had thought it would just be handy for Isaac to be able to protect himself (because between murderous Alphas, hunters, Nogitsunes, Oni and damaged electrical cabling, his boyfriend seemed to have a massive target painted on him wherever he went), in the past three months it had become rather a godsend. With the loss of Allison still playing heavily on all of them, they had been quite keen to take some time, to recover, rest, heal.

Fate however had had other ideas.

During the final battle with the Oni, one of the former twin Alpha werewolves, Aiden, had been run through by one of the demon soldiers and had died in his brother's arms. Scott had felt the death of one of his pack, and in a display of power that none of them had thought possible, rallied the power of everyone in the pack and poured it into his mortally wounded Beta, flooding him with the energy he needed to keep breathing, and by some miracle, Scott had saved his life, and after a month in the hospital (to Aiden's great disgust) he had been released, alive and well. However, according to Dr Deaton, the suspicious vet who also happened to be a Druid, by saving Aiden's life and pouring so much energy into him to keep him alive, Scott had basically announced his presence to a world that, other than one other Alpha who was on the run, had no idea that he had even existed.

Now of course that had all changed.

The last three months had seen more werewolf packs pass through the town than Scott had ever thought possible, all of them coming to investigate the new Alpha in charge of Beacon Hills. Add that to the creatures that were brought here by the mysterious power of the nemeton and Beacon Hills was the site of some sort of supernatural get together on any given day of the week. While some of those creatures passing through, and some of the packs coming through, had been more than friendly, more often than not the newcomers to the town were out for one thing and one thing only: to challenge the power of the local Alpha and claim Beacon Hills for themselves.

As a result, the pack, which was now responsible for the protection of the town, had seen off many potential threats, sending many a pack and creature packing, while making friends and allies of others, and this Alpha and his pack which were running through the preserve tonight was just another example of one of the many joys that came from being the apex predator in a town like this one.

You had to protect your territory.

"Let's go." Scott ordered, but just before they descended into the woods proper, his phone rang.

"Scott, my little sniffer dog here tells me there's more than one scent in the woods." Stiles reported from the other end, and both Scott and Isaac grinned as they heard Malia berate Stiles for calling her that.

"What else do you smell Malia?" Scott asked worriedly.

Having lived as a wild coyote for the better part of eight years, Malia had had a difficult time readjusting to life in normal human society, and clearly emphasised a survival of the fittest approach to things. However, while being a coyote she was similar to a wolf at heart, and as such played an important role in the pack, and her help had been invaluable since the town had become the marshal point for every nosey creature from here to Seattle. As she knew these woods like the back of her hand, her nose also knew these woods like the back of her hand, and had the most discerning sense of smell in the entire pack, and due to her father living on a farm at the edge of the woods, she was also the closest on hand and could smell every new thing moving through the woods, just as she had tonight.

Scott had been doing pull-ups on his door frame while waiting for Isaac to return from work when Malia had called, informing him that there was another pack in the woods, resulting in Scott summoning the entire pack in order to intercept the pack that could even now be heading into town with the express intention of causing trouble. Scott, being the Alpha of the town, was less than inclined to let that happen.

There had been enough death.

"There's more than that new pack coming through here, it kind of smells like the sheriff does when he comes home from work." She explained, and Stiles made a quizzical noise at the other end.

"What, like fries that he thinks I don't know he eats?" he asked, making Scott and Isaac grin.

"No, like guns." She said significantly, and Scott groaned.

Hunters.

"We knew that whatever took them all out hadn't gotten them all. How many are in an entire clan of hunters anyway?" Isaac demanded irritably, looking around darkly.

"Where are they headed?" Scott asked, ignoring Isaac's question, because he really didn't know, but the answer was obviously too many.

They had also been chasing off parties of hunters for the last three months as well, including one group that had stormed the penthouse where the twins lived. They had been rather surprised when they had been ambushed in the lobby by a pack of pissed off werewolves and beaten into submission before a delighted sheriff had come to take them all to prison where they belonged.

"They're heading deeper into the forest, but so is the pack I picked up on. Either way they're moving away from the nemeton." Malia reported and Scott frowned thoughtfully.

At least they were moving away from the evil tree stump that had caused them so many problems recently ever since Jennifer Blake had seen hit to grace the town with her presence.

"We're on our way. Stiles..." Scott warned and he heard his best friend, his brother, sigh mutinously.

"I know, I know, stay back. I can look after myself you know." He retorted bitterly, and Scott heard the sound of one of the Argent's tazers powering up.

"I know you can dude, sue me for not wanting my best friend to get ripped apart by a pack of angry werewolves being chased by a pack of angrier hunters." Scott told him curtly and hung up.

The two young werewolves took off through the trees, both of them ready for the slightest indication that they were getting closer to their quarry when as expected, Scott heard a roar echo across the forest, making him skid to a stop.

"Aiden." He said significantly, throwing himself into a run in a slightly different direction.

"What are we going for the shepherd thing again?" Isaac asked curiously from behind him, and Scott grinned back at him.

"Hey, you were the one who said we should try it when Ethan suggested it." He reminded him, and Isaac shrugged.

"Well yeah, it worked then, there weren't any hunters chasing the pack we chased off then. And besides...it gets boring doing the same things all the time." He said with a slight grin and Scott winked at him.

"How about I let you rough up a few hunters, that exciting enough for you?" he asked teasingly as Ethan gave a roar this time, and there was an associated roar from the Alpha the twins were pursuing.

The two wolves continued thundering through the forest and that was when they both heard it, the unmistakable sounds of machine guns being fired through the cold night air.

Panicking slightly and fearing the hunters had found one of his pack, Scott howled, seeking reassurance, receiving the appropriate number of responses in return but it did little to soothe him, if they could now hear the ammo being fired, that meant they were getting closer to them and the pack that they had come out after in the first place.

Isaac answered his ringing phone, eyes narrowed as he looked through the trees, trying to figure out where each of the rest of the pack was.

"What's up?" he asked brusquely.

"The twins have the pack, but they've got the hunters right behind them, we just saw them. There's six of them, all armed, machine guns by the looks of things, couple of crossbows and one guy has some sort of axe!" Danny explained, sounding less than impressed by the hunters choice of weapon and Isaac looked at Scott, who nodded grimly.

"Where are you two?" he asked.

"We're moving up on them now, they're faster than we are." Lydia explained as she and Danny tore through the woods after them, and Scott winced as the pack they were looking for gave a frightened howl.

The twins were getting a little too close to them for his liking. Time to end this little hunting party.

"Where we herding them to?" Isaac asked, ready to bolt in that direction.

"The pack have just passed the stream that Malia affectionately named." Danny responded, and Scott smirked, hearing the smile in his voice.

Malia, having no concept of keeping certain things to yourself, had called the stream running through the middle of the forest the 'Stream where Stiles and I had sex', and hence it had been named that ever since, despite Stiles protesting and after having berated Malia for telling the entire pack that.

"That means they're heading to-" Scott began.

"Malia's wreck site." Isaac finished.

All they would find there is the perfect set up for an ambush, and a rather deadly kitsune.

Scott roared, throwing the sound, making it clear where the pack was to head, and he heard the associated howls of the rest of his pack as he and Isaac stormed towards the ambush site, ready for a fight with both hunters and the opposing pack.

The older man, the Alpha of the pack, gasped weakly as they ran through the woods, the hunters hot on their tail, the sounds of their weapons getting closer. His wife looked at him worriedly, and his three children were clearly terrified, they needed to get out of this quickly, but the local pack roared again, herding them further in the direction they wanted them to go, it sounded like they were all around them and getting closer with every roar. He could hear the power of the Alpha in every roar, the respect he commanded, the love he deserved in every response.

And as he and his family entered a gully, he skidded to a stop, panting weakly, looking around at the rocks and small crags that surrounded them, with a wrecked car standing right in front of them.

And on top of it was a young girl, black hair fluttering in the wind, clad in a black raincoat, a red skirt with black tights and to his great surprise, a katana in her hand, her eyes glowing amber.

She was a kitsune.

Herding his children together, he forced them in a tight group as he and his wife leapt in front of them, roaring in challenge at the exotic guardian, but then there were two roars and his wife hissed in fury and fear as two identical young men dropped down on either side of them, both clad in jeans and leather jackets, one with his hair all spiked up and wearing a black tshirt, the other with a sort of quiffed fringe and wearing a white tshirt, one on each side and they roared in challenge, their eyes flashing blue as they did so, though they hesitated as they saw the three children behind the increasingly furious mother.

There was then a sort of higher pitched growl and a girl landed on all fours, her own eyes glowing blue, wearing a purple top with navy leggings, her light brown hair falling about her face as he landed, her dark black coat glinting in the night, and as some light shifted, the old Alpha was shocked to see that she was barefoot.

Behind her came another young boy in a red long sleeved sweater with a grey hoodie on, his messy spiky hair tinged with gold at the tips, thick boots covering his feet, and the old Alpha was sure he checked out the shoeless girls ass before he raised something that looked like a cattle prod which crackled with electricity.

There was then a noise from above them and another young man, who sent a reassuring smile at the twin wearing a white tshirt who smiled back, appeared, raising a bow with an arrow pointed right at the old man. He was clad in a hooded, black sleeveless top with dark jeans, looking very comfortable with the bow in his hand. Beside him was a girl with vivid strawberry blonde hair, in a green overcoat and a flowery dress, and had something that resembled a grenade in her hand as the wind stirred her cascading hair.

The old man snarled (though he was less than impressed that he could be about to meet his fate at the hands of a group of teenagers) and was ready to challenge the pack when the pack surrounding him cast their eyes as one to the rocky overlook above the wrecked car that the kitsune was standing on, and his family looked up as one to see the leather clad Alpha, eyes glowing red, staring down at them with a curious expression on his face, a pale slightly taller boy beside him, eyes glowing golden as he aimed an arrow at his snarling wife with a smaller bow than the one the other archer was wielding, and the older Alpha realised that it was this kid who his life and the lives of his family now depended upon.

"We've got them!" a Hispanic sounding voice shouted in glee, barrelling into the clearing, machine gun raised but then came to an abrupt stop as he realised that he had just strolled right into the middle of a werewolf standoff.

His five companions, one of them berating him in Spanish, entered the clearing as well, looking angry and then their faces flickered through a range of emotions, glee, confidence, hatred, fear and surprise as they realised that the hunters were now the hunted.

"Could you guys give us a few minutes? These guys have really been getting on my nerves." The young Alpha asked the older one and he nodded, and with a vicious roar, the Alpha somersaulted off his high ground and his entire pack turned their attention to the trapped hunters who were even now fumbling for weapons.

Scott flipped down from his station, roaring angrily, eyes glowing crimson and he leapt towards the hunters, the rest of the pack moving as one. Lydia threw her smoke grenade, landing it right in the middle of the hunters who all screamed in protest and started firing bullets into the ravine wildly, desperate to hit anything as they tried to get their bearings. Before the first bullet had even left the gun however, the twins had leapt towards the surrounded pack, tackling them all to the ground.

"Stay down!" Ethan urged them before bounding up the hill and taking up a protective position beside Isaac, who fired an arrow right into the leg of the hunter who was about to shoot Malia.

Screaming in pain, the hunter turned his weapon to shoot at Isaac, but Aiden seized his wrist and smirked.

"Trust me, that's a big no no." He told him with a cocky grin and then kicked him in the stomach, before following through with a powerful uppercut that knocked the bleeding hunter off his feet and he slammed to the ground and moved no more.

"They're here, we've got them!" a voice yelled and Ethan snarled as four more hunters descended from on high behind Isaac's position.

Isaac span and shot another arrow through someone's shoulder, holstering his bow as the man screamed and he grinned at Ethan who smirked back and the two wolves leapt at the oncoming hunters, landing right in the middle of them, claws out and swiping as they moved.

The hunters turned angrily, daggers and knives the weapons of choice as their guns were now useless, but they were no match for the young wolves. Ethan snapped one man's arm in two, making him scream in pain and he bodily hurled the hunter through the air, slamming him into the wrecked car, which he rolled off of and went still. Isaac grabbed the arrow from the man whose shoulder he had hit and then wrenched it out, the man screaming in pain as he did so. Isaac then spiralled, throwing the arrow like a lance and catching another hunter in the shoulder.

The leader of the small group then fired several bullets at Isaac but he cartwheeled away from the attack, using what the twins had taught them all, avoiding the bullets before landing his feet on a tree and propelling himself off it, sending the man shooting at him high into the air. Ethan then tackled the man as he fell back down to earth, the gun flying from his hand and with one bone smashing punch, Ethan ended his threat.

Isaac dropped to his hands and swept the already wounded hunters legs out from under him, and slammed his fist into his chin, rendering him out cold with one hit, and with a lethal growl, Isaac sprang through the cold night air, landing right in front of the remaining hunter, ring daggers in hand and he slashed both the wounded hunter's hands before kicking him in the groin. As the man gasped in pain, Isaac span around the back of his prey, one dagger at the man's stomach, the other at his neck, and he slammed the hilt of his dagger into the man's head, dropping him face first into the leaves.

"See, Aiden and I trained you too well, now I can't beat you!" Ethan complained, and Isaac grinned cockily.

"How about I race you to the others?" he taunted and the two grinning wolves made for the rest of the fight.

Danny was once again proving himself an expert marksman, and had already stuck an arrow through one hunter's hand. Kira grinned at him, swinging her glowing nunchuck and with a good swing she took down the wounded hunter before pirouetting, drawing her sword and stopping the hunter behind her from bludgeoning her with his rifle, using her sword to force him back into retreat before she swung her sword wildly, throwing his rifle from his hand and there was a dull thunk as Stiles slammed the man on the head with his metal bat, dropping him like a stone.

Malia darted across the leaves, her wicked claws ripping at the tendons of a screaming hunter, dropping the man to his knees as she deprived him of his ability to walk. With a nasty downward swipe, she took the man out of the game to watch in delight as Scott and Aiden, Aiden protecting and supplementing his Alpha, crowded the last of them in so they could finish them.

The two hunters opened fire with their machine guns, scattering the rest of the pack, Isaac and Ethan roaring in challenge and an arrow landed in between the two hunters, exploding with a bang and making the two hunters yell in fright, their eyes dazed. Glowing red eyes then appeared in front of one of them, and he felt himself be seized by the neck and thrown bodily across the ravine, slamming into a rock and going still.

"No!" Aiden barked, seizing the last man standing's arm and sticking his claws into his wrist, dropping the silver dagger that he had been trying to stick in Scott's back, and Aiden bared his fangs, ready to rip his throat out for threatening his Alpha.

"Hey! Enough ok?" Scott asked, his warm hand on Aiden's shoulder and the terrified hunter, now smelling distinctly of urine, whimpered weakly as Aiden dropped him, and kicked him in the groin for good measure, the man wailing in winded exhaustion as he writhed in pain on the ground.

"There's still two more." Malia reported and Scott rolled his eyes, and grinned coyly at Kira, who grinned back and the two ran off in the direction Malia's nose was pointing.

There was then two yelps of surprise and two hunters were thrown bodily from their position further down the ravine, crashing to the ground in a heap and going still, the Alpha and the kitsune smiling in satisfaction as they strolled up the path.

"That it?" Scott asked the coyote kindly, and she nodded, though still looked worried about something.

Deciding he would deal with that in the minute, he had a quick glance over the pack. Aiden was still growling at the man who he had his foot on the groin of, daring him to cause trouble. Kira and a grinning Stiles were going around, picking the hunters clean of all their weapons, while Danny helped Lydia get down from their position higher up the rise. Malia was still sniffing around trying to find whatever else was out there, and Isaac and Ethan were counting the number, making sure they had got them all. His brown eyed gaze lingering on his boyfriend's leather clad body a little longer than it should have been, Scott watched as Ethan moved to his twin's side, Aiden rolling his eyes in patient amusement as his twin scrutinised him for any pain, any sign that the wound that had nearly killed him was bothering him.

"Ten of them, all taken down and out in record time. Oh and my father the sheriff thanks you all for your generous contribution to his gun and knife amnesty!" Stiles said cheerfully, the moonlight shining on the golden highlights in his spiky messy hair.

"And we thank you for the finder's fee we'll get as a result." Ethan said smugly to the only conscious hunter, who looked as though he were about to spit at him but thought better of it when he considered where his twin's foot was, threatening his crown jewels.

Scott then turned to the man, savouring the silence they had brought to the forest by dealing with the hunters. Aware the other pack still needed dealt with, he hoped they would wait a little longer, and he could feel the other Alpha looking at the situation with interest, and his wife eyeing them all edgily.

Scott crouched down beside the fallen hunter and extended his claws, eyes flashing red as he surveyed the struggling moustachioed man.

"You realise something?" Scott asked softly, and the man grunted.

"What loba?" he spat, and Aiden increased the pressure of his boot slightly, making the man whine in pain.

"None of you are dead, which is considerably more than you could expect from any other pack. I don't want to kill anybody, none of my pack do. Well, if you keep calling me loba instead of lobo, Aiden here probably wants to kill you, he's quite protective of me. But I don't want to kill you, I don't want to kill anyone, even pain in the ass hunters who have given me nothing but trouble for the past three months. So, how about we just talk? And then, you can get arrested and I can get on with my life, and everyone goes out of here alive. If not, well, you see the colour of the twin's eyes." Scott growled menacingly, and behind him, Isaac grinned, he loved it when Scott got threatening.

Not that he ever would let the twins kill anyone, and admittedly, since they had joined the pack, their murderous impulses had largely evaporated. Well, Ethan's had, Aiden was still rather inclined to kill things a lot, but they had just put that down to a quirk of his nature.

The hunter looked like he was going to kick up a fuss, but one look at Aiden made him think twice, and he gave a bitter sigh, glaring at Scott.

"What do you want to know?" he grunted irritably in his Mexican accent and Scott grinned, he loved it when that worked.

True if he ever dealt with anyone who knew full well he wouldn't kill anyone, they were screwed but for now, it worked like a charm.

"How many more of you are there?" he asked impatiently, and the hunter smirked.

"Hunters? Millions." He boasted and Aiden rolled his eyes irritably.

"Not all hunters, just your clan, you know, the ones that have been here like locusts for months, the Calaveras!" he snarled and the hunter made a panicked noise.

"Ok, ok, I tell you! We're the last, we came looking for Araya!" he cried desperately, and Kira approached, shooing a disgruntled Aiden off, who growled at the man before allowing the kitsune to bend down and assume a nicer role in the interrogation.

"Araya, who's that?" she asked kindly, and the man seemed a lot more willing to spill the beans to her.

"She's our leader, our matriarch. Women lead hunters, don't you know that?" he challenged, and a ripple went around the entire pack, the grief suddenly palpable but Kira pressed on before he realised how much he had bothered them with a simple question.

"Yes we know that. When did you last see Araya?" she asked, and the man scowled.

"Three months ago, we all came here looking for La Loba." He replied, and Lydia frowned.

"A she wolf? Well you didn't do your jobs very well, there aren't any she wolves in town anymore, not since Cora left." She told him, and the man, seemingly confident now he had started talking, continued.

"We don't know, we just wanted to find Araya, and kill the pack here, that's all!" he protested, and Scott frowned.

"So Araya's still missing?" he asked, and the man nodded.

"Yes! That's why we came." He explained, and Kira continued her good cop routine.

"Alright, see how easy it is? No one has to get hurt. Now, if you were the last of your clan, are you definitely the last of your group?" she asked, and he gave a wicked smile.

"One is left." He taunted and Isaac growled, but a look from his boyfriend quelled his anger.

"Where?" Scott demanded irritably, and the man sniggered darkly.

"You'll never know." He taunted and Scott beckoned to a delighted looking Aiden, which made the hunter go pale.

"Alright fine! He's in prison!" he cried frantically, stopping Aiden in his tracks and he affected a pout while Ethan and Danny sniggered.

Stiles scoffed.

"In prison? Then we don't need to worry about him do we?" he asked, but then it clicked in his head, the same it did in Isaac's.

"He's after Derek." He told Scott, who rolled his eyes, of course he was, why not?

Derek, the other Beta in Scott's pack, and the one who had been accused of murdering four hunters, who also happened to be part of the same clan as the one they were still dealing with, and was now in prison, awaiting trial for said crime.

The entire pack could agree on one thing: Derek hadn't done it. The sheer fear in him, the sense that for the first time in his life he was completely lost, it made it more than clear that he hadn't killed anyone, let alone those four hunters. And unlike the twins, who had a history of killing, Derek, to Scott's knowledge, had only ever killed two people, despite his frequent attempts to kill others. And even then, one of the ones he had killed had crawled out of his grave anyway so he didn't really count.

The sheriff and Parrish (who was now included into the chessboard) had asked Scott to verify that Derek in fact could not remember anything about the murder and Scott had reluctantly used his power as Alpha to stick his claws into Derek's neck and check his memories, something he had been less than inclined to do, but he had done. After all, he didn't need to look in Derek's mind to know the truth. He just knew. He just knew that Derek hadn't done it.

And that was when he had discovered that that entire stretch of his memory was missing, not muddied, not blacked out, but missing. Derek literally had no idea what had happened, it was like the memories weren't even in his head, and there was no way of knowing what had happened.

Deputy Haigh, the obnoxious, rude new deputy, of course called Derek a liar and was claiming that he was just trying to get off on an insanity plea but they all knew better. Derek actually was innocent, they just had no way to prove it.

And as a result, Derek was still languishing in prison, and was now at the mercy of a hunter who was determined to try and kill anyone and everyone in Scott's pack that he could get his hands on.

Well, he wasn't going to let him hurt Derek.

They had lost enough as it was.

"We need to get to the prison. Stiles-?" Scott began, but Stiles was already dialling, and the twins flanked their Alpha, basically declaring that they were going with him to rescue Derek.

"You won't stop him in time!" the hunter boasted, and Kira shot him a dirty look.

"Oh shut up." She grumbled and kicked him in the head, knocking him out.

Realising they could do nothing until Parrish was at least alerted to what they needed, Scott turned his attention to the pack that had strayed into their territory. Firstly, there were three children, ranging in ages from about six to eleven, all of them looking at the pack nervously. The same could not be said for the two adult wolves.

The Alpha was a tall man, dark skinned, his head shaved, dressed in trousers and a plain white shirt, and beside him, a shorter woman, in a black skirt and heels, long blond hair falling softly across her face, her eyes glowing golden, her hands raised protectively in front of the children.

"I must say, that was most impressive." The other Alpha said looking at Scott warily and he gave him a smile.

"Thank you. Hey, we're not going to hurt you." Scott assured the woman, who looked at him sniffily.

"You'll forgive me if I don't take your word for it." She replied curtly, and the man placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down dearest, if the lad was going to hurt us, he'd have done it already." He told her in a calm soothing voice, and she did relax ever so slightly.

"Are you going to hurt us mister?" one of the kids piped up, and Scott grinned a little before crouching down and shaking his head.

"No, I'm not going to hurt you. Though I would like to know why you're in my territory." Scott said politely, and the man chuckled.

"Purely by accident I assure you, I thought we were further east than we were. We didn't mean to stray into your territory. My name is Alastair Browning, this is my wife Cindy and my three children, Thomas, Maxine and Yuri." He explained, pointing to each one in turn, indicating the one who had called Scott mister as Yuri.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Scott McCall. Oh and this is all of my pack, well not all of them, I'm one short at the moment but it's most of them. That's Malia, our best sniffer," he said, and the new girl smiled as the other pack nodded at her respectfully, "that's Kira," the kitsune waved cheerfully, "Danny is the one with bigger bow," he told them, "Lydia is our banshee," he explained and something flickered over the older wolves faces but they said nothing, "that's Stiles, my best friend," Stiles took Malia's hand as she was still frowning worriedly, "the twins, Aiden and Ethan, who are kind of my bodyguards, well, Aiden is anyway that's why he's so determined to protect me," he told them, the twins looking at them suspiciously, and then Ethan rolled his eyes as Scott's grin expanded, "and that's my boyfriend, Isaac!" He said brightly, shaking Alastair's hand and Cindy's eyes widened in shock as he did so after giving the rest of the pack the once over.

"Oh, you're the true Alpha we've all heard so much about. Well, it's nice to meet you." She said, also shaking his hand, apparently convinced that he didn't mean them any harm.

"That's me. Sorry we kind of pounced on you, we're kind of edgy, every pack with a bone to bury has been coming through here recently, and a few of them have given us trouble." He informed them, and Ethan leaned close to Isaac.

"Yeah, that one with that Germaine guy definitely had a bone to bury." He said with a snigger, and Isaac glared at him, the memory of that old Alpha hitting on his boyfriend was not one he cared to repeat.

"It's because you're new, it'll calm down soon enough. I assure you, we mean no harm at all, we're just passing through, we're heading to Idaho for a family gathering." Alastair explained, and Scott waved it off.

"It's fine. Look, that should be the last of them, but if you want we can make sure you get out of here safely." Scott offered, but Cindy shook her head.

"I'm sure we'll be fine from here. Sorry, my husband's sense of direction has never been particularly good." She explained with a smile, and Alastair sighed irritably, glaring at her without venom.

"One mistake, she never lets it go." He complained as she chivvied her children to start them moving.

"We wound up in Seattle." She reminded him tartly.

"Well, it was nice there, you met Bessie there!" he protested as the children started to move out, the three kids waving and smiling and giving Scott a chorus of 'bye' in unison as their parents started them on their way again.

"Yes, and that's all very well and good...we were meant to be heading to Sioux Falls though!" she reminded him and he scowled at her while she grinned smugly.

"Hey, they're like you two." Stiles said brightly, and Isaac glared.

"Isn't that more like you? You've still not forgiven me!" he complained, and Stiles shot him a dirty look.

"That's because you're a dirty oath breaker and dropped me royally in it!"

"It slipped out!"

"Yeah whatever it did, it set a pissed off jealous Alpha down on my head, all because of you!"

Scott rolled his eyes in amusement as the familiar sounds of Isaac and Stiles bickering reached his ears, and Alastair looked at the two of them worriedly.

"Are they alright?" he asked, apparently fearing for Stiles' safety since he could smell that he was only human, well, mostly, there was something a little, off, about his scent, but Scott grinned and nodded.

"Oh yeah, believe me, I prefer them bickering, if they aren't bickering they're usually up to something to make me miserable. It was nice to meet you all." Scott said, shaking Alastair's hand again, and the older Alpha nodded.

"You seem a fine young man. I hope we can keep in touch. I'll give you a call if we come this way again, and if you ever have need for advice, I'll be happy to help. Here you are. Thank you for dealing with the hunters. I hope we meet again. Good luck with your friend." He said, as he and his family disappeared into the dark woods leaving Scott musing on his position as Alpha.

"Good decision buddy, good Alpha decision." Stiles said proudly, and he smiled.

"Yeah, kind of nice having another pack pass through that doesn't want us dead." He mused, and Kira snorted in amusement.

"How many does that make now?" she asked, and Aiden looked at her with a slight grin.

"Well not wanting to kill the entire pack, about six, not wanting to kill everyone in the pack other than us, only five."

He was of course referring to the pack under the command of an Alpha named Jacqui, who had immediately recognised the twins as Deucalion's former thugs and had tried her hardest to take Aiden's head off. Considering he had only gotten out of the hospital two weeks before, Scott hadn't taken this well and had forced Jacqui off, snarling angrily and looking the angriest anyone had ever seen him, and it was only the joint force of Stiles and Isaac talking to him that cooled him down. He had then apologised, but made it clear to Jacqui, who had accepted her defeat with relative good grace, that whatever the twins might have done was in the past and they were his pack now.

"What now?" Danny asked, and Ethan looked at him sharply.

"You go home." He told him and Danny scowled angrily.

"You guys let Stiles go with you and he's human, and Lydia isn't much better!" he protested, and Isaac shrugged.

"Yeah buddy, and besides he's a better shot than they are." He reasoned and Ethan looked at his boyfriend worriedly.

"I still don't like him being out here." He complained, and Danny exchanged an exasperated look with Isaac.

"Is this a werewolf thing with boyfriends?" he asked and Isaac smiled.

"Don't know, mine learned not to try to leave me behind." He replied, and Scott went slightly red.

"How'd you manage that?" Danny asked with a sly grin, and Isaac waggled an arrow in the air, making Danny wonder just what he had done to his boyfriend.

"Anyway, I need to get to the prison and help Derek. Yes I know you pair are coming." Scott said, resigned to the fact, and not thinking it was worth the fight as the twins sidled up to him.

"Well while you do that, we can get this lot away." Lydia said and Aiden looked at her intently, as though she were sickening for something and she shot him a dirty look, clearly annoyed.

"Are you having any feelings?" he asked her gently, and she gave him a cold smile.

"Yes...annoyance." she said tartly, and Scott decided to intervene before the two of them had another of their all too familiar fights.

It was like ever since Aiden had come out of the hospital, Lydia hadn't wanted to spend any time with him. Sure she'd had sex with him after he had got out (which Scott had thought a bit much, as during all the time his Beta had been in hospital she hadn't visited him at all, sent a card, or even talked to him in any way, and while he made a perfectly good show of not being bothered by it, Scott could tell he was hurt that she apparently didn't deign his near death worthy of her time) but while it was clear to everyone with a pair of eyes that Aiden wanted to spend time with her, she continually blew him off and left Aiden angry and hurt by the way she was treating him.

At first they had thought it was just the reaction to losing Allison, but now they were not so sure.

"I meant, can you tell if Derek's in actual danger?" he asked waspishly, and she shrugged helplessly.

"Not from here, I'm too far away, and besides, my weird feelings helped cause this mess." She said bitterly, and Stiles squeezed her hand comfortingly.

"Hey, enough of that." He chided gently and before any of them could say anything a horn honked in the distance.

"Ok, we'll go and deal with Derek, and hopefully that guy really will be the last of the Calleveras, I'm fed up of that Mexican goth biker gang." Scott complained and beckoned imperiously to the twins.

Ethan kissed Danny softly, warning him to go straight home and Danny nodded, looking amused and bored at the same time. Aiden tried to kiss Lydia goodbye but she pulled away, and Kira saw Aiden's eyes flash blue in frustration and he turned and followed his twin without another word, Kira's eyes narrowed as she considered whacking Lydia with her nunchuck just to see if it knocked some sense into her .

"You're in for a fun ride." Isaac commented grimly, looking at Aiden's retreating back worriedly, his entirely spiky haired head bowed, and Scott grinned cockily.

"Is that a promise?" he asked cheerfully and Isaac went red, smiling at his suggestion.

"Maybe if you play your cards right." He whispered and the two kissed softly, before Scott unwilling stopped kissing him.

"See you at home." He said as the horn honked again, and he sped up to catch up with Ethan, as an annoyed Aiden was storming ahead.

None of them mentioned anything to Lydia, not even Stiles, who was rubbing himself self consciously, something he had been doing a lot since being freed from the Nogitsune. It may be gone, but they were far from over the damage it had caused.

"Ok, let's get this lot cleared away. Malia, what is it?" Isaac asked, taking over operations since Scott was away and Stiles seemed a million miles away.

The coyote was looking out at the forest worriedly, her eyes glowing blue and she edged a little closer to Stiles, who seemed to sense the distress his girlfriend was in.

"Hey, you with us?" he asked worriedly, and she looked nervously at him.

"There's other things in this forest. And something, whatever it is, definitely shouldn't be here." She told him darkly, and Isaac looked out at the forest, now beginning to feel slightly jumpy.

"What is it?" he asked nervously, ready to holster another arrow, and she shook her head.

"I don't know that's what's bothering me. There was different smells, but now, there's just the one, it smells of, I don't know, dust, mildew...blood." she whispered, and Stiles tilted her face to look at him.

"So-?"

"So if I had any idea what it was, I'd be running away. First law of the wild, anything smells that funky, you don't mess with it, you run from it." She said significantly, and Stiles looked at her, hurt.

"Wait, so if you ran away you'd leave us behind? Leave me behind?" he asked, and she gave him a little smile.

"Well, them, yeah probably, if your survival is threatened, its every coyote for themselves. Well, unless they have someone like you." She said softly, and he grinned sappily at her and Isaac decided they better wrap this up before they started having sex in the forest, which, as Malia had told them, was a pastime of theirs.

"Alright, how about we take her advice and get the hell out of here. I don't know about you guys but I don't want to deal with whatever's giving her the creeps, we've got enough problems...we've had enough problems. Let's go. Huh, did anyone think to bring a way to get rid of these guys quickly?" he asked and Kira gave him a half smile.

No then.

Grumbling, they started moving the defeated hunters from the forest, at least able to carry the weapons easily.

High above them, he looked down at then, his eerie amber eyes watching them intently. That girl, she wasn't like the others, she had a better sense of smell as well. He had thought he was safe, high above them, in the rafters of the trees like this but obviously not, she had somehow picked up a scent of him. Either way, he would have to be careful. Agravaine would be here soon, and he had a score to settle with the monster. And then, once he had settled that score, he would hunt down every creature like him and settle it with them too. Giving a last hateful glare at the pack beneath him, he flew off into the air.

Melody had to admit, the pack was good. She was standing further back, in the shadows, watching them intently. Malia had picked up a scent she didn't like, and she didn't know if the wild girl had somehow smelled her. She shouldn't be able to, after all, her pheromones ought to protect her, but you could never be too careful. Particularly since school started the day after next, the last thing she needed was Malia twigging that she was spying on them. Smirking slightly, she vanished into the night.

And unseen by any of them, its silhouette framed by the moonlight, a hulking mass of flesh looked down intently before vanishing into the night towards its master.

XX

Both twins were looking at their Alpha in amusement, who had a look of childlike joy on his face as Parrish blazed them up the freeway, siren blaring. He enjoyed riding in a cop car bless him.

However, unlike Scott, Aiden wasn't quite as happy. He was glaring out the window resentfully, his mind buzzing.

"You ok?" Ethan asked softly and he snarled in response, but his twin wasn't to be deterred.

"Aiden, I know you. You're pissed." He began, but before he could say anything else his brother turned to him, eyes glowing blue and snarling at him viciously.

"Um, not wanting to be a party pooper, but I'd rather you didn't rip each other up in the back of my car, see, this is my own one, and I kind of don't want to tell the sheriff I need to get it cleaned and detailed already." Parrish said pathetically, and Scott grinned at the young blond deputy before turning back to an angry Aiden and a hesitant Ethan.

"Don't make me come back there. Aiden...I know she's getting to you. Calm down ok?" he asked, and at the command of his Alpha Aiden's blue eyes faded and he went back to scowling out of the window.

"I just wish I knew what I'd done to make her so mad. Do you know?" he asked hopefully, and Scott looked at him sadly and shook his head.

"Sorry buddy. Let's save Derek first, then we can figure out what's going on in her head ok?" he asked, and Aiden nodded, and Ethan gave Scott a brief look of thanks before he turned back to a worried looking Parrish.

"So why are they going after Derek?" Parrish asked as various cars parted like the Red Sea before him.

"Probably because he's in my pack, and probably because they think he killed those four hunters. And even though we know he didn't, I doubt they'll care much." Scott commented darkly, and Ethan leaned forward from the back.

"And even if he's found guilty, they'll still blame him. How much longer are you guys going to hold him anyway?" he asked the deputy, and Parrish bit his lip thoughtfully.

"It isn't that easy Ethan. Look, the sheriff and I know full well Derek didn't do it, but to everyone else, he looks guilty as sin. Haigh is right about one thing, claiming he can't remember is something murderers do to try and get a better sentence when they know they've done it, basically, it gets put down to insanity and generally they get a fairer sentence." He said worriedly, and Aiden jerked himself out of his reverie.

"Yeah that's why Batman never gets rid of any of his enemies, like the Joker, claim insanity and you can't be put to death." He said helpfully and Scott rolled his eyes in amusement, since getting his job at the comic shop, Aiden had increased his comic knowledge to even greater lengths and was now on an even par with both Isaac and Stiles (one night they had been so engrossed in a discussion about who was better, Iron Man or Batman, that Scott was sure they wouldn't have noticed if an army of Oni had appeared in the middle of the room).

"What about Captain America?" Ethan piped up and Parrish smirked.

"We all know why you're interested in Captain America." He teased and Ethan went slightly red while Scott and Aiden grinned, though Scott had to admit, he could understand Ethan's crush on the film version of Captain America.

"Yeah but we know Derek isn't lying, he's telling the truth. He literally can't remember, someone stole the memories from him." Scott said darkly, and Aiden leaned forward.

"Didn't you get memories out of Isaac when you were looking for Boyd and Erica?" he asked and Scott nodded, his mind flashing back to images of a shirtless Isaac climbing into a bath full of iced water and falling into a trance like state.

"Yeah we did, and I even had Deaton help me do it, which was a joy," he said sarcastically, "but we couldn't get anything. There is nothing in Derek's memory that will help us find what happened to him, literally nothing. Even Deucalion left traces, which means..."

"Whatever this fresh hell that stole Derek's memories is either stronger than that guy." Parrish offered, and Ethan shook his head.

"Doubt it, he was kind of justified in calling himself the Demon Wolf even if he just sounded like an ass doing it. But the other option is whoever did it is just better at stealing memories, which would make sense, particularly if they're framing him for murder." He reasoned, and Aiden then looked at his Alpha hesitantly.

"Um...look I know we all basically agree but, well how do we know Derek isn't actually the killer?" he asked, and backed away slightly as Scott narrowed his eyes at him in the mirror.

"I just know he didn't. Like I know you haven't killed anything since you joined the pack either. I just know." He responded and that seemed good enough for him as they blazed up the road towards the prison, massive oddly shaped foreboding grey building.

"Alright, I'll get us in, leave the talking to me." Parrish warned and Scott nodded.

Since Stiles and the sheriff had included him into the chessboard (which now became the common way of referring to those in the know who weren't originally (they had all been rather surprised when Ethan had appeared with a tired but grinning Danny and informed them all that he knew about the chessboard too)), Parrish had been invaluable. As a deputy, he tended to attract less attention than the sheriff did when he tried to help them, and as such was much more willing to help them, and also much more able, acting basically as an intermediary between the pack and the sheriff's office, which had already been essential. He had also spent a lot of time with Derek, ostensibly working on getting more information on what had happened, but was really acting as a relay between him and the pack since Derek was allowed limited contact, and was generally just befriending the banged up Beta.

"Ah, the next chapter in the epic romance between you and that cute desk clerk." Aiden teased as they got out the car, and Parrish shot him a dirty look and the three wolves sniggered as he led them into the prison waiting area, and Scott could detect the faint smells of mutual attraction blossom between Parrish and the girl behind the desk.

Clad in a deep blue prison officer uniform, she had dark hair which was lightening in several places, hanging around her face, showing her intense blue eyes and the glowing smile she saw Parrish coming towards her.

"Hey Kyle, back again?" she asked as she smiled in greeting at the three wolves.

"Yeah, sorry Mikaela, but we need to see Derek Hale, it's important." He insisted, and she arced a pencilled eyebrow at him.

"Huh, so you're telling me you brought three of Derek's little teenage friends speeding up here from Beacon Hills which is a forty five minute drive, to talk to Derek at what is now quarter past eleven at night when it's freezing out there when three hot young guys like that and a hot guy like you should be in bed with your girlfriends?" she challenged, clearly enjoying the little tinge of pink she brought to Parrish's cheeks.

"Um, my girlfriend seems to hate me and this pair have boyfriends. But he's single." Aiden chipped in, pointing to an incredulous Parrish as Mikaela smiled.

"Sorry. So, what gives?" she asked, and Parrish sighed wearily, still shooting Aiden a dirty look as Scott poked him, looking only slightly chiding and his bodyguard shrugged, trying and failing to look innocent.

"Look I know this is irregular and kind of against the rules, but...we think he's in danger. Someone looking to kill Derek for committing the four murders he's accused of." He explained, which was true in essence, it just lacking elaboration, and Mikaela frowned worriedly, her hand on the security button to call help if they needed it.

"You're sure? Kyle this just sounds ridiculous though, they can't get in here, this is a prison for god sake, not a petting zoo, it isn't as if anyone can just stroll in...well unless they have someone like you with them." She said, nodding to the three wolves.

"Hey, if you don't believe me, why you ready to call help for us?" he asked with a slight smile and she looked at him, slightly embarrassed.

"I don't know, you just seem...trustworthy. Why would someone break in just to kill someone, and how would they?" she demanded, and Scott closed his eyes, as if trying to block something out and the twins edged closer to him, protecting him from view with their slightly taller bodies.

"I can feel it, he's in trouble, he's in danger. Either of you want to explain this supernatural alarm bell by the way?" he asked irritably, and Ethan bit his lip worriedly.

"We will, but let's save Derek first ok? What is it?" he asked anxiously, and Scott looked at Aiden, who had taken Scott's arm to steady him as he his head had started to swim.

"It's not like with you, when you were stabbed I could feel the blade, this is like...like I know he's in trouble but I don't know what it is, or where it's coming from, you know, like you're being followed." He explained and Aiden growled under his breath.

"We're running out of time." He complained and turned to Parrish and Mikaela, who had noticed nothing.

"They want him dead for killing someone in their family as far as we know, it's a whole blood debt thing. And...and Derek's in isolation." Parrish said, the final piece clicking into place.

When they had put Derek in here, the sheriff and Parrish had talked it over with Derek and Scott and they had all agreed that giving him a cell in isolation would be better for everyone, and the sheriff had overridden Haigh's complaints to get away with it. And besides, as Stiles had said, he wasn't much of a conversationalist anyway, and could hardly be described as a joy to be around so isolation seemed to suit Derek perfectly, which Derek had admitted was a good point before threatening to kill Stiles for being a smart ass.

"Go, now." Mikaela said worriedly, opening the door with a buzzing sound, and summoning other security guards to Derek's cell.

"Mikaela?" Parrish asked in shock, and she looked at him significantly, the colour drained from her face.

"The cameras just went down in his cell block. We're blind." She said, and with that Parrish drew his gun, the three wolves shoving into the corridor before she could even stop them.

XX

Derek pushed himself up from the floor, counting two hundred and getting to his feet, stretching his tight muscles, a slight sheen of sweat on his bare chest as he looked around his cell, supremely bored.

He had been in here for three months, and he was bored rigid. While he knew the pack had his back and none of them believed he had killed those hunters, he had to admit, their belief in him was doing very little to alleviate the sense of total uselessness and boredom that had gripped him ever since he had been put here, accused of four murders he didn't commit.

Well, he didn't think he had committed them, but he couldn't remember one way or the other. He didn't think he had committed them, but the fear, the terror that he had done that, had killed those four hunters, even if it was in self defence, it was a powerful grip on the mind and he was terrified that he indeed killed them and just couldn't remember.

In truth, he had never been more afraid of anything. Not since his family had been burned alive because of his relationship to Kate Argent had he been so lost and confused as he had been when he had woken up to discover four dead bodies and himself covered in their blood with their skin under his nails. While the twins, Aiden in particular, had wondered if he actually had killed them, Scott's discovery that he literally had no recollection at all of the event in question, the fact that that part of his memory was simply erased, missing, had made the pack all lean towards the theory that he was being very cleverly set up.

Truth was, Derek was actually more inclined to agree with Aiden. Scott would never believe he was a murderer first off, well, not now they actually knew and cared about each other, that was just the way Scott worked, he believed the best in people, which he, Jackson, Isaac, the twins and even Stiles now were all living proof of. He had heard of wolves who had just totally lost control given in to the beast within, kind of like Jackson had done when he was the kanima, and had woken as if from a trance, covered in blood and reeking of death with no recollection of what had happened. Derek feared that he had indeed killed the hunters, slaughtered them viciously, and had just blanked out, given over to his primal urges and became the very sort of monster that kind of justified the existence of hunters in the first place.

What if he was a killer, a natural monstrous killer, and had just blacked out and had lost control when he had killed those hunters?

What if he was like Peter?

An image of his uncle's Alpha form, a true beast like Alpha, more wolf than man, a stooped, long, dark rd eyed beast flashed to mind and he shook his head, dispelling the image.

He would never become like Peter had been, a pure murderous monster, driven on instinct and vengeance.

He would die first.

But...that did leave another question. If, as the pack, the sheriff and his young deputy, even Melissa, all seemed to believe, that he had been framed, that begged the question of just what, or who, had killed those hunters and just as importantly, how they had stolen the memory of doing it.

He had no clue what was going on, no clue what had happened that night, and had no clue why he was still waiting here for a trial, and he literally had no clue if his mind was still even his own. True he'd endured two full moons since coming here and he had remained in control, but, what if there was something wrong with him deep down?

He sighed wearily, he hated being locked up like this for so long. No one had visited today, but to be fair that was to be expected, he knew the pack were investigating but he also knew Beacon Hills was currently attracting all sorts of creatures, all coming for a nose at the true Alpha who had just announced himself to the world. And besides, they would all be going back to school in two days time since winter break was finally ending. And most of them had jobs now too, and their own problems to worry about.

And besides, most of all he was disappointed that the enigmatic Braeden hadn't visited either.

Musing on her slightly, he turned to look at the book he had taken from the library, he had heard Stiles say that Swords of Good Men by Snorri Kristjansson was good, and so he had picked it up in the library, he figured he may as well catch up on reading since he was in here with nothing else to do. And besides, it was about Vikings, which he had always enjoyed, so why not?

There was then a dull clunk from outside, and Derek frowned, turning towards the door to his cell. Hang on, that was the sound of the lights going out but the corridor ones went out at midnight, it couldn't be midnight yet surely? Straining his ears, Derek heard a single gait making its way up the corridor and he felt his heart rate quicken, whoever they were was moving quietly but quickly in the dark corridor outside, their heart rate quite steady. And then he heard the unmistakable noise of a knife being pulled from its sheath, and the sound of a gun being chambered.

Great.

Picking up the tunic that consisted the other half of his prison uniform (musing that orange really wasn't his colour as he did so) he pulled it on and prepared himself just as the door slid open.

No killing, no fighting unless it was absolutely necessary, killing or even wounding whoever was there would only make matters worse for himself.

The door opened, revealing the black corridor outside and the lights inside the cell went out, Derek snarling in anger as they did so, that could only mean one thing, a hunter had come for him. But, as a wolf, he could see perfectly well in the dark to see a grizzled, scarred and pockmarked man, with a silencer pistol in one hand and a silver dagger in the other.

"Well well, if it isn't the killer of my cousin Severo." He sneered and Derek snarled, claws extending.

"Don't tell me you're another Callevera, how many of you are there?" he demanded, and the man chuckled darkly as he raised his hand, and while Derek tensed, the man just flicked a switch.

Derek snarled in shock as a blinding beam light filled the room, making spots appear in his eyes as the hunter blinded him.

"Poor lobo, we are legion! And your pack, well by now, you're probably the only one left." The hunter gloated and Derek growled dangerously, if he had hurt the pack...

"Somehow I reckon they're safe, after all, there's an entire clan of you, and I've seen more of you pass through here than drug dealers, I mean, you can't be that competent." He goaded, and he could barely make out the pistol being moved towards his head in the beam of his headlight, the man scoffing.

"You will see, your pack is finished. Now, how about you tell me all about where La Loba is?" the hunter hissed and Derek sighed in annoyance.

Whoever the hell this La Loba was they better be the most interesting person on the planet because he was seriously getting pissed off hearing about the woman, ever since the Calleveras had arrived in town it had been La Loba this, La Loba that, and he was as bored of that as he was of this place.

"What's your obsession for this girl anyway? I don't know who La Loba is! There are no she wolves in town! There is no La Loba!" he yelled angrily, wondering if he could just edge so he could make out the man who had a gun and a knife pointed at him, trapping him in his cell like this.

The hunter chuckled.

"You mean to tell me you don't know La Loba? Please my friend. But alright, how about you tell me what you did with Araya, and where she is?" he ground out, and Derek looked at the man, curious.

Araya was the matriarch of the entire Callavera clan, their general in their war on the supernatural. Strict followers of the code, they were the self appointed police of the hunter world and if Araya had vanished, well that was very curious.

"Araya's missing?" he asked with interest, and he could see the man's aim waver a little.

So...the Callavera clan didn't know where their leader was. If she had been missing for three months, well, she was most likely dead, but something just didn't add up about it. Was that another murder he had committed, or was there something else at play here?

And if the Callavera clan had indeed lost their matriarch (much like the Argents, he reflected grimly) then that meant that there was an entire clan of leaderless cousins, brothers, nephews, uncles and all sorts, all of them looking for guidance, looking for a leader. And in desperation, before they all started trying to carve up the substantial empire Araya had created through various means, legal and otherwise, they would all come to the last place where she had been.

Beacon Hills.

And that would explain why there had been a virtual army of hunters giving Scott so much trouble recently.

They were looking for Araya, and she was nowhere to be found, so they had gone after the pack, hoping that would explain it for them.

But if the pack didn't know, and he didn't know, and her entire clan didn't know that begged the question: just where was Araya, and what had happened to her, and more importantly, who had done it to her?

"Like you don't know wolf! Where is Araya?" he demanded, and Derek grinned.

"I seriously don't know, but if I was a betting guy I'd say she was dead. What was she to you, mother? Sister? Aunt? Grandmother? Um...lover?" Derek asked in distaste, poking at him, and the man's hand shook furiously.

"You know, you're going to tell me, tell me where she is or I kill you like the dog you are!"

There was then a deep growl, but it didn't come from Derek, and the man was suddenly thrown hurtling backwards through the air with a scream, slamming into the wall and dropping like a stone, the light shattering and going out, and Derek grinned as he saw a pair of glowing red eyes approach him in the darkness, flanked by two glowing pairs of blue eyes, and he felt himself relax a little, and appreciate how impressive that looked in the darkness.

"Seriously Derek," Scott asked with a slight smile as the lights came back on, flanked by Aiden and Ethan who were grinning cockily, "do I need to keep saving your skin?"

**Hello again!**

**So this is the first official chapter of Two Pack II and the start of an entire new story. (Oh and before I get, Mikaela is played by Mekenna Melvin)**

**First of all, not a lot happens in the first episode (which I suspect could be about three chapters) but I swear the action starts at the start of episode two. But already, we have some major points.**

**Derek is in prison, accused of the murders that Kate committed, Beacon Hills is currently the hot spot for every nosey supernatural creature in the place, Lydia is still not really talking to Aiden, Scott is demonstrating his Alpha powers, and there are strange happenings afoot in the top of that obviously, we still have the ramifications of Allison's death sending ripples through the pack.  
**

**We also have several other changes. Obviously, the pack is in its entirety at the moment, well with Derek in absentia since hes in the big house, and they've clearly been practicing. On top of that Danny, to Ethan's dismay, is also now helping out in their night time wonderings, and all of them have upped their game since the end of last season**

**And then there's the aesthetic changes as well, Scott, Stiles and Aiden all with new hairstyles (gelled side parting, golden highlights on the tips and all spiked up respectively), Isaac with a new wardrobe, him and Aiden with a job**

**So that's the first chapter, but we still have a long ways to go before we're even done with episode one, and after the break so to speak (literally, I'm back to work tomorrow night to my disgust) we have new characters, the fallout of Allison's death continues to affect the pack, some of our villains arrive in town, and grandma is coming to visit as well. **

**Anyway, sorry there isnt a lot that happens in the first chapter, hope you like it regardless, and please read, favourite, follow and review and I hope to have the next chapter up soon, so until next time!**


	4. Episode 1: Territory Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

Scott hauled himself tiredly into the house, feeling rather glad his mother was doing a late shift at the hospital, if she had caught him coming in at this time, Alpha or not, she'd have killed him. As it was, he was only going to have to deal with a disgruntled boyfriend which was bad enough since he'd been gone for hours.

After saving Derek from the hunter, who had been promptly whisked away and sent to the main prison (which was now filled with alarming numbers of those of the Callavera clan much to Scott's concern) he had been kept back by the appalled warden who was shocked that someone had broken into the prison with the intention of killing Derek, and as such he and the twins had endured a fair bit of questioning about why they had been there. However he was apparently convinced by these explanations, and was already promising to put Mikaela forward for promotion for trusting her instincts, and was writing to the sheriff to commend Parrish and to see if they could get the boys citizenship medals bless him.

While the twins had been questioned, Scott had finally been able to catch a few minutes to talk to Derek, which was a blessing. Ever since he had been locked in here, they'd hardly seen him and as such Scott had largely been going it alone. True the twins, Aiden in particular, were very eager to help but there was some stuff they just didn't know. Scott had assuaged their disappointment by saying it was to be expected, they weren't like Ennis and Kali, they had been the Omegas who had killed the Alpha as opposed to vice versa, hence it was understandable that they didn't know some stuff.

They needed to get Derek out of there. Haigh, the new deputy who was persecuting Derek with a fiery vengeance and seriously pissing off Parrish, who had become quite fond of Derek recently, said that it wouldn't be long till the trial came about, which would at least get the ball moving. But there were still so many mysteries surrounding this, and Scott didn't like it one little bit.

While he knew in his heart that Derek hadn't killed those hunters and had been very well framed, he knew nothing else that could help, hell, he would feel better if he could even find the memory in Derek's head but the entire thing was missing, that entire time period was just a blank slate and none of them knew how they were going to fix it.

And as a result, Derek, who may have been quite a poor Alpha, was nevertheless a good source of advice, and to Scott's slight amusement he had become a sort of big brother to him, and to be frank, he kind of missed having the brooding, sulking former Alpha around.

And besides, he was getting seriously worried that one of his pack was trapped in prison and they could do nothing to get him out, and tonight had proved that no matter how strong Derek was, they couldn't escape the fact that he was a rat in a trap in here, which put him in a lot of danger. And that danger got even worse when you considered that virtually all of the Callavera clan was now in the same prison and only a couple of cell blocks away from him.

That particular thought wasn't very reassuring.

Scott did however muse on the conversation he had had with Derek in the prison as he kicked off his feet and considered which room Isaac might be in and began the long walk up the stairs towards his boyfriend who would hopefully be nice and warm. Who was he kidding, he would be freezing as usual and it would be up to him to cuddle up to him to warm him up. What a nuisance, he thought with a grin.

"_Alastair? Yeah I've heard of him, nice bloke, good with kids." Derek commented and Scott grinned a little._

"_Yeah we gathered that since they were determined not to let any of us near them." He said wryly, and Derek quirked an eyebrow in amusement._

"_Are you telling me you'd let Stiles near a kid?" he asked and Scott snorted in amusement, that was a good point, you wouldn't know who was babysitting who._

"_Point. Are you ok?" he asked, his warm eyes looking at Derek worryingly._

_Derek sighed, looking bored and worried._

"_Well, yeah. Actually that guy trying to kill me broke up the monotony nicely, I'm frustrated, and bored. And..."_

"_You didn't do it." Scott intoned, and Derek looked at him curiously, a slight smile on his face._

"_What makes you so sure?" he asked and Scott shrugged._

"_I just know you didn't. You're being framed, and that Braeden girl is trying to help too," he said, noticing the slightly pleased expression that flickered over Derek's face as he told him that, "we know you were framed. We just don't know how to explain it or how to get you out of this, but we are working on it, I promise." He explained and Derek patted his shoulder slightly._

"_Thanks Scott. Have you had any sign of Peter yet?" he asked darkly, his eyes narrowed as he mentioned his less than trustworthy uncle, and Scott shook his head grimly._

"_No, we haven't seen him in weeks, not since, well you know." Scott said worriedly, tailing off and avoiding mentioning what had happened then._

_Derek made a thoughtful noise, and he looked at Scott, his brow furrowed._

"_Did you-?" he began and Scott's nod cut him off._

"_Yep, I called Cora, she says she hasn't seen or heard from him either. Isaac called Argent and asked him to have a look too, but even he says he hasn't had any luck." He replied, and Derek looked grim._

"_Whatever he's up to...just be careful. Even with the oompah loompahs out there to protect you, he's still dangerous." He warned, and Scott nodded, while vowing to himself never to tell the twins of how they were just referred to._

"_I do remember. But we have another problem." Scott said and Derek groaned._

"_Ugh, I'm in prison, Peter's MIA, you're attracting trouble like a magnet, what next?" he asked and Scott sighed._

"_Gerard. He's vanished." He said darkly, and Derek's eyes widened in alarm._

_Unlike Peter, who the vast majority of the pack only knew to be trouble and hadn't lived through it, Gerard was another matter, and even the twins were familiar with him considering it had apparently been one of Deucalion's favourite stories to tell them._

"_Are you kidding? Since when?" he demanded, but the troubled look on Scott's face was more than enough to answer that question._

"_Argent's looking for him too. But it gets better. Wherever he went, he apparently walked out. His wheelchair was still in his room, with a large hole in it that makes it look like it got stabbed." Scott informed him and Derek's eyes widened in alarm._

"_Wait, he walked out?" he demanded and Scott nodded, looking supremely annoyed._

"_Looks that way. We're looking but we haven't had any luck, and Argent hasn't either." He explained, knowing full well what Gerard's disappearance could mean._

_Trouble._

"_Scott..." Derek began but before he could go any further, one of the guards came up and told Derek he was being taken back to his cell, and Derek scowled, looking annoyed, and Scott wondered if he was pushing his luck asking for a few more minutes._

_But as they started shoving Derek away, Derek looking frustrated, a tiny bit of fear emanating off him as they led him away, and Scott bit his lip._

"_We're going to fix this Derek. I promise." He vowed as the door slammed shut, once again trapping his Beta in prison for something he knew he hadn't done, trapping him with an army of hunters who would like nothing more than to kill him for the crime he was accused of._

Scott frowned as he looked between the two bedrooms, which one was Isaac in? Smelling the scent that was his boyfriend he opened the door to his own bedroom to see Isaac sitting cross legged on the bed, still wearing his jeans and black tshirt and Scott grinned, kneeling in front of him and tilting his head up to kiss him, Isaac kissing back softly.

"Hey, is Derek alright?" he asked as Scott sat beside him and leaned his head on his shoulder.

"Yeah he is, well, he's bored as hell. We need to get him out of there honey, you realise all the Callaveras are all in there with him now?" he asked, and Isaac nodded, pressing a kiss to Scott's temple.

"Yeah, the only reason he's safe is that he's in solitary. I've been trying to find anything that can help since I came home, but there's nothing. I even looked for a couple of lawyers but, well do we know if Derek has any savings?" he asked hopefully, and Scott shrugged.

"Probably as much as we have." Scott lamented, and Isaac sagged a little which made Scott sit up and stroke his cheek softly.

"Hey..." he chided and Isaac sighed a little but moved on.

Scott wasn't quite as convinced that he had though. Ever since he had started working at the coffee shop he had been trying to convince Melissa to take some money for keeping him but she wasn't having any of it. Scott knew he felt guilty about living with them and wanted to help out, but he didn't listen when both of them told them that he did more than enough around the house to help out. He also hated that everything his father had left him (unwillingly but as Camden was dead he was the sole beneficiary) he couldn't get until he was twenty one, and hence couldn't even give any of that to Melissa not that she would take any of it anyway.

While Isaac was concerned with not being able to pay money back, it wasn't just him. The entire pack was struggling with money at the moment. The house was old and falling apart, his mother having gotten it from her grandmother, and needed some major work and repairs done to it before it all came down around their ears. The car could also do with being replaced but obviously that wasn't going to happen any time soon. His mother worked all the hours god sent, and she got alimony and child support from his father but neither of them accounted for much. And between Scott and Isaac, true they both had jobs and had both offered her money to help out but she refused to take it, and even then they didn't make that much, and it would be less in two days time because they wouldn't be able to get any overtime due to being back at school.

Stiles and his father weren't much better, needing to pay the bills from his brain scan and from his brief stay in Eichen House, and with the sheriff's pay having been frozen while he was under investigation by his father (to which he had called his father several rude names upon learning) they too were struggling.

The twins were still staying in the flat Deucalion had rented above Allison's old place, but the rent was only paid for another few months after this one was over, and while the landlady was a kind old dear who rather liked having the two attractive twins in her building and enjoyed their company, they too had little money to spare as they were squirreling it away to try and get another place to live when the rent ran out.

Even Malia had problems due to her also being incarcerated at Eichen House and all the tests and injections she had gotten when she had returned to human form.

Basically, the vast majority of the pack was bankrupt, but that was a problem for another day.

"Did you tell him about Peter and Gerard?" Isaac asked, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, he was as happy as we are to get those tidings of joy. He's just frustrated." He complained, wishing he could do something else to help Derek.

"We all are. And that Braeden girl has vanished again, no one's seen or heard from her." Isaac complained as he stroked Scott's new hairstyle fondly, and Scott considered that for a moment.

"Maybe no news is good news. But still, I'd rather have Derek out of prison soon. You do realise there's a virtual army of hunters in that prison that are just waiting for the chance to kill him?" Scott asked worriedly, and Isaac could hear the fear beneath his voice, the fear of losing another member of the pack after they had already lost Allison and had nearly lost Aiden.

"Yeah like that's a cheerful thought. Want another? Malia reckons there's something else in the forest, which smells bad, like blood." He told his boyfriend and Scott suppressed a groan.

The last thing they needed was another creature in town, but as a thought occurred to him, he calmed down a little bit.

"She does realise how many people have died in that forest right?" he asked hopefully, and Isaac shrugged.

"I don't know, but she does have the best sense of smell out of all of us, so it might be worth checking out before we go back to school." He reasoned and Scott nodded.

"Alright, we can have a look tomorrow, I really don't fancy going back out tonight. I do however fancy you." Scott said seductively, and kissed Isaac, who moaned a little and allowed Scott to push him back onto the bed, Scott smiling as he held himself above Isaac.

"Scott..." Isaac said teasingly, and Scott kissed him to shut him up, nuzzling him with his nose.

"No you don't, you're staying in here where you belong, with me." He said huskily into Isaac's ear and Isaac stroked his cheek, looking excited and happy, but also kind of pleading.

"Look, it's not the sleeping with you I don't like, far from it. I just don't like having to wake up early and go back into my room before your mom gets home. She's trusting us remember." He reminded him, and Scott did consider that.

When it had become clear that the two of them had fixed their myriad issues and were finally, completely and totally back together, Melissa had sat them down and had set ground rules. Realising she was facing a battle against not only two normal hormonal teenagers, but hormonal teenager werewolves, she had been fairly lenient in her demands but Isaac, as he wasn't the permanent resident, was afraid that if Melissa caught them both at something, or in bed together when they shouldn't be then he would be asked to leave, despite Scott assuring him that if she asked anyone to leave it would probably be him. She had also threatened to take Scott to Deaton and get him neutered which had caused both boys to react differently, Scott more with fear than anything else because she definitely hadn't been kidding, and Isaac with anger, which the very mention of the vet's name seemed to cause now that he knew his complicity in his and Scott's breakup.

"Don't you want to stay with me?" Scott asked in a baby, pouting voice, and Isaac reached up, running his fingers through the back of Scott's hair and he pulled himself up to kiss Scott gently.

"Of course I do, I just don't want to get up so early and go to my own bed where you, well, aren't." He moaned a little, and Scott had to admit, he did see why Isaac was getting a bit fed up of it.

One he didn't like lying (well not really lying but omitting certain truths) from Melissa and was afraid of whatever punishment would occur if she found out the two of them were virtually sleeping together. And two, he didn't like being the one who had to move, and he always struggled to get back to sleep after he went back to his own bed. And what was more, he was always cold and he was having to get up at four or five in the morning in order to get into his own bed before Melissa got home.

Scott leaned back on his haunches and smiled a little at the sad disappointed look Isaac gave him, and Scott then grinned.

"Well, how about we start swapping? Some nights I can come and cuddle you in your own bed, and then you can stay nice and warm and might get back to sleep while I sneak back through here?" he asked hopefully, and Isaac considered it and grinned.

"I can see that working." He purred and stripped his black tshirt off and Scott licked his lip in pleasure as he kissed Isaac, forcing him back down onto the bed, hand stroking over Isaac's bare chest, rubbing down to his stomach and coming to a stop at the top of his jeans.

"You know, your boss is truly the most inspired man I've ever met, deciding that your uniform should be just black because god you look hot in black." He whispered into his ear, and Isaac grinned up at him playfully.

"And he's much better than your boss because him and his wife encourage me to date you." He said happily and then sat up abruptly, making Scott look at him in confusion.

But his confusion evaporated as Isaac pulled Scott's own top off, placing a kiss on Scott's abs with Scott giving a little shudder of pleasure as he did it. Scott then stroked his hand through Isaac's styled dark blond hair, Isaac's hands moving towards Scott's jeans, making a little whimpering noise in his throat, Scott left in no disillusion as to what he was after, grinning and tilting his head back, allowing his boisterous boyfriend to undo his jeans and pull them, and his boxers, down, revealing his cock.

"Huh, it's going to be that way then? Ok, two can play at this game." Scott said, kissing Isaac's neck and as Isaac titled his head back, Scott kissed down his body to his jeans, pulling them off in a flourish, also getting the boxers and grinned cockily at Isaac, who quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, easy on the goods or suffer the wrath of Lydia." He warned, and Scott bowed his head apologetically.

"You know, that shopping trip she took you on is the only reason I've not had a go at her for what she's doing to Aiden." He told him, lying beside him and stroking his hair, as Isaac snuggled into Scott's chest, kissing it as he did so.

"That's a shame on Aiden. Besides, I didn't think you liked the clothes she helped me buy." He said mischievously, and Scott looked at him in surprise.

"What makes you think that?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you're always trying to get them off me." Isaac replied with a cocky grin and Scott nodded.

"Huh, that's a good point. I like them on you too though. We need to cheer Aiden up." He mused, and Isaac scowled.

"Yeah by kicking Lydia right up the-"

"Not that. I'll think of something. Hey, tomorrow's the last day of the holidays, how can we spend it?" Scott asked excitedly, and Isaac kissed him, stroking his cheek with his thumb.

"However you want, but only in the afternoon. Stiles and I are doing something in the morning." He told him, and Scott let out a low, playful growl.

"He's what?" he demanded and Isaac sighed in amusement.

"It was the Nogitsune! Let it go! He was possessed and I was in the process of being possessed. Besides," he said, kissing Scott, his tongue slipping into Scott's mouth gently, "it's you I love." He told him and that seemed to mollify Scott, who then affected a pout.

"Well what are you pair doing?" he asked, and Isaac grinned.

"Well it's simple, he and I are plotting to kill you, take over the pack and become the rulers of Beacon Hills." He said with an evil grin and Scott poked him in the chest.

"Hmm, interesting plan, but two things, one, what do you do with mom, and two, who warms you up at night?" he asked teasingly, and Isaac nuzzled him.

"Simple, she becomes the royal mother by default and lives in security for the rest of her days, and I get a dog!" he said brightly and Scott laughed.

"Ask a silly question. What are you doing?" he asked, and Isaac grinned maddeningly.

"You need to wait and see, you'll find out tomorrow." He told him, and Scott, genuinely interested now, looked at him curiously.

"Is this a surprise I'll like?" he asked hopefully, and Isaac looked hesitant.

"I hope so." He said nervously, which truly did arouse Scott's curiosity.

"Huh, interesting. You know, Ethan's taught me a few ways of making people talk!" he said suggestively, and Isaac grinned smugly.

"He also taught me how to resist such techniques." He boasted, and Scott pinned Isaac, hanging over him, and he kissed Isaac's jaw.

"Well, let's see who he taught best then shall we?" he asked as Isaac protested in amusement as Scott began his interrogation.

XX

The Oni turned as one, their evil yellow eyes glowing and he watched in horror as one embedded its sword in Allison's stomach, her surprised gasp signifying the end of her life. The demon pulled the sword from her as she toppled to the floor, her painted fingers twitching then going still as the life was snuffed out of her.

There was then a furious roar as the twins leapt from the room of the internment camp, landing and bodily throwing the two Oni closest to the fallen huntress, but before they could do anything to help, Aiden's eyes widened in shock and pain, flickering blue as an Oni stabbed him right through the chest, Ethan screaming as his brother fell face first, bleeding out, his black blood staining Allison's pale white hand.

There was a scream and he watched in horror as a frantic Lydia tried to escape from another Oni, who sliced her tendons dropping her to the floor, but she wasn't to be deterred, trying to crawl away but the demon simply stabbed her right through the back, pinning her in place, her pale face looking at him helplessly.

An aggrieved cry came from behind him and he span in time to see the Oni dispatch Chris with a vicious cut right through the chest, Derek trying to protect him, but they came at him from both sides, four demons using the older wolf as a pincushion and stabbing him repeatedly, his beaten body topping to the ground.

Ethan was trying to raise his brother but a demon then smoked into existence behind him and as Ethan begged Aiden to move, the demon sliced across Ethan's neck, dropping his lifeless body onto his brother's, blood gushing from the wound.

Two roars then echoed and he could see Isaac rushing to defend his fallen packmates, Scott right behind him, Kira appearing from nowhere, her sword at the ready. An Oni smoked in front of her, raising its sword and she barely blocked it, the demon forcing her back, the kitsune defending wildly, Scott stopping and heading to save her, but he was too late as the Oni knocked the blade away and stabbed her right in the stomach, then slashed outwards, Kira dead before she reached the floor.

Scott rushed towards her but he then stopped, turning in alarm to see an Oni thrust a sparking cable into Isaac's back, Scott screaming in terror as Isaac shuddered and screamed as he was electrocuted, sparks flying all around him, his skin glowing blue and his eyes rolled back as his smoking body dropped to the floor in a heap.

Scott then leapt towards the demon who killed his boyfriend only to land right on its sword, and gurgled in pain, before the demon pulled the blade from him and slashed his head, Scott's body dropping to the floor.

He wanted to scream, this couldn't be happening, and all of the pack's dead staring eyes turned to him as one, and Allison looked at him, her unseeing eyes boring deep into his soul.

"This is you, you did this, you killed us!" she screeched and he screamed in denial, blubbering weak pathetic apologies, after all, they were dead because of him, what could he do to make this better?

"We died for you!" Aiden snarled, as he and his brother's dead gazes were levelled at him in accusation.

"All of us, for what?" Lydia demanded, blood coming from her mouth.

"For you, a weak human who doesn't do anything?" Derek growled, black blood running from his mouth and eye sockets.

"Why couldn't it have been you?" Isaac, eyes white, demanded.

"You got us all killed Stiles, come on, join us, feel our pain!" Scott insisted and as his dead friends got to their feet, all of them grasping towards him, he screamed, panicking.

"STILES!" a voice yelled in his ear and with a jolt he woke up to see Malia hanging over him, sweat running off of him, tears streaming from his eyes, his entire body shaking as he tried to remind himself that he was back in reality.

"Malia? Where did you come from?" he croaked, and she looked towards the window which she had obviously climbed in through, his entire body still shaking.

"Where do you think? Are you ok?" she asked, and he nodded weakly, shivering.

Malia looked at her boyfriend, his form shaking, clearly terrified, his skin pale, tears streaming from his eyes and she just sat beside him, waiting until he was ready to talk to her as his body shook and he took deep breaths to try and get himself back under control.

When she and Stiles had first started going out, they had avoided talking about everything that had happened, other than what they had done in Eichen House. But as time went on, Stiles had started telling her some of the stuff it had made him do, the guilt it had caused him, the things he had done to Lydia, to Scott, to Isaac. She had learned that he couldn't be rushed, and that if he wanted, if he needed, to talk to her then he would, and until then, she just had to wait till he was ready.

"It was the same dream." He said, his voice shaking as she held his hand and she raised it to her mouth, kissing it gently.

"It's just a dream though." She said softly, stroking his hand and he shook his head.

"But it's the same, every night I watch as everyone in the pack gets killed because of me, just like Allison did. It's my fault she's dead." He mumbled, not looking at her and she kneeled in front of him, taking his face in her hands, and then started running one through his messy highlighted hair.

"You do remember who I am right? The girl who transformed and killed her sister and her mother when my mom crashed the car when I kind of ripped her apart? Stiles...why do you think I became a coyote? I was eight years old, and every night I saw myself ripping apart my mother, pulling at my dead sister to try and get her out the car. It...dulled it, being a coyote, well, the images weren't in colour anymore, they were kind of toned down. With what happened to you, I'm not surprised you have nightmares. You were used as a puppet, you had no control, and because of the Nogitsune and Kira's mother, you got caught up with the Oni. I never really met her, but I'm pretty sure Allison wouldn't want you to blame yourself. No one else does." She told him, and Stiles looked at her, as if he was going to snap at her, looking angry, but then his expression softened and he leaned in and kissed her.

"Thanks. I know you're right, it's just..."

"You're insane, like Isaac said!" she said brightly, and Stiles gave her a mock scowl.

"I told you not to hang out with him, he plots against me." He told her and she purred, stroking her hand up his bare chest, cocking her head curiously.

"And you don't plot against anyone? You're a saint?" she asked playfully, wrapping her arms around his body and Stiles moaned in pleasure as she did it, though whimpered a little as he felt her claws growing.

Yeah, had to teach her to control that, his back was covered in scratches. She was pushy in bed too, but well, that wasn't so bad.

"Oh yes, see, I'm the generally nice, down to earth kind of guy." He said, kissing her neck and pulling her down as he laid back into the bed, pushing all thoughts of the nightmare out of his head.

"I seem to remember you being a little crazy." She challenged, and Stiles kissed her, hand bunching in her hair and he grinned at her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah well so are you. Besides, we fell for each other, so we're both clearly nutters. You going to tell me how you got in here?" he asked, and she looked at him as if he were crazy.

"I climbed up the drain pipe then came in the window like I usually do how else?" she asked, and he kissed her brow, running his hand through her hair.

"And what were you doing here?" he asked suspiciously, his eyes smouldering in amusement.

"Well, I wanted you. I wanted to have sex with you but you were having a nightmare." She said frankly and Stiles was glad it was dark, even though she could see it, as he was blushing.

"Sweetie, remember that talk we had about being a little too frank?" he asked, and she pouted.

"So I shimmy up the drain pipe, come into your bedroom, stop you having a nightmare, see your nice body and you don't want to have sex?" she complained, and he kissed her nose.

"I never said that, I just said you don't need to announce it as much." He said seductively, and started pulling off her clothes, the nightmare gone...but not forgotten.

XX

Isaac jerked awake, shivering. Some times when he slept with Scott, his dreams were much better. Other nights, like this one, all his mind seemed to want to do was replay Allison's murder right in front of his eyes yet again. Scowling, he pulled himself out from Scott's grasp, Scott moaning a little as he did so, and Isaac picked up the dressing gown Scott had given him when he first moved in, wrapped it around himself and headed into Scott's shower room, standing in front of the mirror, running the water gently so as not to wake his boyfriend, and he splashed some water in his face, wrapping the dressing gown tight around his bare chest to stave off the cold.

Some nights really were better than others. He had gotten to the stage where the dreams about Allison's death were the exception rather than the norm, but tonight, they seemed determined to haunt him all night.

He had loved her. At the time he had been so messed up, torn between his feelings for her and for Scott that he hadn't actually realised it until it was too late. He did love her. He hadn't thought he had, he thought he only loved Scott, but...now that she was gone it was kind of obvious that he did love her. And he had never told her. After, well after it, after her dying to save his worthless life, he had never had the chance to tell her that he loved her too, just like he loved Scott.

He couldn't get that image out of his head, he was trapped, about to die when she had shot the Oni about to kill him, destroying it, saving his life in the process. He had turned towards her, only to be able to watch helplessly as another demon ran her through with its sword, murdering her right in front of him.

She had died for him, and he so wasn't worth that.

Whether he'd been woken by his absence, his own body getting cold, some other bodily function or was in some way mysteriously alerted to the fact that his boyfriend was crying silently, Scott was then behind him and was wrapping him in his arms tenderly, hushing him as he held him, his hand stroking gently through Isaac's hair.

"I'm sorry." Isaac whispered into Scott's bare shoulder, and Scott pressed a kiss to his temple as he held his boyfriend.

"I miss her too." Scott whispered into his ear and Isaac pulled away from him, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry. It's been three months and I still...I thought it would be better by now." He complained and Scott looked at him with such tenderness that Isaac felt his heart melt a little.

"Isaac...she meant so much, to all of us, to both of us! You don't need to apologise for missing her. I miss her too. I still do." He assured him, but Isaac turned away, and Scott suddenly had an inkling he knew what this was really about.

"I know you miss her, you and Lydia most of all miss her. You aren't still crying about her, you're sad yeah but it's not..." Isaac began and Scott gently wrapped his arm around Isaac's stomach, feeling his cold skin beneath his dressing gown as he leaned his chin on Isaac's shoulder.

"I am." He whispered into his ear and Isaac's slightly red eyes looked into the mirror to see Scott's kind chocolate brown ones smouldering on his shoulder.

"Huh?"

Scott looked at him sadly, his hand rubbing up and down his back wearily.

"I'm not dealing with it any better than you are. I have the dreams about her too. I see her, every night, and I hear her every night. All of it, everything. I remember holding her as she died Isaac. I'm still just as much of a mess about her dying as you are. I miss her too. I've got the nightmares, and you're not the only one who can't keep it together in the middle of the night." Scott whispered, and Isaac looked at his boyfriend in the mirror, realisation dawning on him.

"Those nights you disappear to the toilet for ages..." he whispered, and Scott nodded slowly.

"Yeah." He confirmed, not meeting Isaac's eyes and Isaac took his hand and kissed it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked and Scott reached around and used his thumb to wipe away the last of Isaac's tears.

"I figured you had enough to deal with without knowing I'm as much of a basket case as you are." He said with a rueful smile and Isaac leaned his head back, Scott laying his forehead against his.

"Idiot. I miss her." He whispered and Scott nodded, his eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against Isaac's.

"I know. I do too." He said softy, his arms wrapped around Isaac's waist.

The two of them stood there silently for a while before Scott stirred, disturbing Isaac.

"Come on, come back to bed, and then we can get some more sleep before you sneak back into your own room." He said, taking Isaac's hand and leading him back to bed, both of their minds still focused on their lost loved one.

XX

Isaac smirked as he heard Scott singing 'Little Talks' to himself (Isaac's favourite song) as he was in the shower. Yeah, this sneaking back into his own room thing was a drag, but still...it did make it slightly better knowing it was Scott he was sleeping with, he felt, well better about everything when he was sleeping with him.

He pulled on one of his few remaining long sleeved tshirts (between the Alphas and the Oni his wardrobe hadn't escaped unscathed) that he had left from moving her. He smiled fondly as he looked into the wardrobe, seeing the vastly needed collection of clothes that Lydia had taken him shopping for, ably assisted by Danny and Ethan (who did admit that some of Isaac's clothes being wrecked was kind of his fault). There had been an ulterior motive to going on that shopping trip however. One, Lydia had needed a break from her endless campaign to get Malia to wear shoes, a war she was surely losing as the girl remained reluctant to ever put anything on her feet. He also seriously had needed new clothes, and besides, all of them needed to take their minds off, well everything.

But Isaac, with Scott's agreement, had been trying to get Lydia to open up on why she was being the way she was with Aiden.

Lydia had changed. Allison's murder at the hand of the Oni while the entire pack had been on a mission to save her from the clutches of the Nogitsune had had a severe effect on her, they all knew that, they all understood it. Ever since Allison had died, it was like she had slightly returned to form. Formerly the bitchy queen bee who cared only about popularity, her increasing involvement with the supernatural had brought out the kind, caring, strong side that no one, expect perhaps Jackson and Stiles, had suspected until then. But recently...

It wasn't like she was pulling away, she remained perfectly friendly, and even kind and sweet with most of them. But, it was like there was an extra layer there now, an armour that was frigid and cold, an armour that she didn't want anyone to get past.

And she wanted Aiden to get past it the least of all.

All that time he had been in hospital and she hadn't been to see him once, she hadn't talked to him, hadn't even asked Ethan or any of the other pack members (heck even Malia visited him and she had never even met him before, but considering Stiles had been there the same time and they had vanished for quite some time that might not have been purely a mercy mission) about him, but yet when he had gotten out of hospital, she had been right there at the twins apartment and quickly made Aiden forget he was kind of hurt and angry with her, but since then, she had been pulling away from him, leaving a confused and angry Aiden wondering just what it was he had done to upset her and was clueless how to fix it.

Stiles however reckoned she was more at fault than he was, something which no one else had contradicted.

So, while Isaac and his eager accomplices (Danny and Ethan (though Ethan was more concerned with stopping her from hurting his twin in case it brought out his murderous impulses again, he was already spending worrying amounts of time playing Grand Theft Auto V and going on rampages through the game as it was since he wasn't killing real people)) had failed to learn anymore as to why Lydia was keeping them all and Aiden in particular at arm's length, they had had a successful shopping trip nonetheless.

While Scott had stayed with Aiden (on his mother's orders, just to make sure Aiden had really healed properly) and had been joined by Kira in order to play video games (something both boys regretted as she had schooled them royally), the rest of the pack had embarked upon their shopping trip.

Stiles had asked Danny and Ethan for some advice and had disappeared, and when he had returned he had had the golden highlights in his hair, to which they all approved, well they assumed Malia did as she had leapt into his arms and had kissed him boisterously, Stiles moaning in slight protest then enjoyment. Eventually it was only Ethan forcibly separating them that had prevented them from getting thrown out.

Lydia, restored to her kingdom, had then led the entire pack, to Danny's despair, clothes shopping, and once more acting as the big sister he had never wanted, she had pried Isaac from the clutches of Danny and Ethan and had also pried away Malia, leaving the two young lovers to deal with a slightly bummed Stiles.

He and Malia had fun however together, firstly watching Lydia's increasing desperation as she tried to convince Malia to at least try on a pair of shoes. Malia however had remained stubbornly defiant and in the end, beaten and knowing it, Lydia had flounced off to try some perfumes while Isaac and Malia laughed at her impotence.

However, determined to at least make up for one loss, she had then turned her attentions to Isaac, leaving him trapped in her clutches and wishing vaguely he could escape and check out the game and comic shop, but one steely look from her had warned him against that idea and so he had gone with her in relative good grace, a barefoot and cheerful Malia following them while sniffing around hopefully for a sign of Stiles and the others.

All in all, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, he found a couple of pairs of shoes (which was handy since he had gotten his job a week and a half later), some more jeans and trousers, and some long sleeved tshirts and some normal shirts. It was only when Lydia was distracted by a type of lipstick that she liked being on deal that he had managed to find the thing that had made the entire trip worth it.

Scarf necked tops.

Scarves. Ready built, into a top.

The most awesome thing ever.

So what, he liked scarves, he didn't care.

Let loose and left to his own devices, he was actually quite successful. It was only the sounds of Stiles berating Lydia that had drawn him back to the others, hands filled with numerous scarf necked tops and a few more scarves (you could never have too many scarves) and upon seeing Isaac, Stiles had immediately berated her all the more, telling her that letting him get away from her when they were so close to anything to do with scarves was a fatal error and was like giving a kid the keys to the candy store, trying to ignore Danny, Malia and Ethan laughing at him.

However, despite the success of the shopping trip and the genuinely good feeling he got from hanging out with Ethan and Danny, they were still no closer to finding out why Lydia was being the way she was being, and it was very annoying.

As he considered which scarf he should wear, there was a knock at the door and a tired Melissa came in, yawning.

"Morning honey." She said, looking tired and wan.

"Morning. What's up?" he asked cheerfully, pulling his dark green scarf out of his closet.

"I need you to move out." She said, while stifling another yawn, and Isaac felt the bottom drop out of his stomach as he turned to her in shock.

She knew, she had to know, and she'd had enough, she wanted him gone, but where could he go, Derek was in prison, and he needed a legal guardian, and Scott was here, he couldn't leave Scott, not now when they were going so good. He thought they had been at least getting away with it but she had known and now she wanted him out of the house, she wanted him gone, he had started to think...she had said she loved him, but now she wanted him gone, was sleeping with Scott that bad that she wanted him gone completely?

"I'm sorry! What did I do wrong, I'm sorry, I won't do it again..." he babbled, and Melissa looked at him in confusion before her sleep deprived brain kicked into gear and it clicked.

"Oh no! No no no no! Calm down sweetie, ok, deep breath, calm down!" she begged as he seemed close to having a panic attack, "please try to calm down, he can smell your mood at fifty yards and he will kill me! I don't mean I want you to move out the house, I just need you to move out of this room!" she explained, and he took a shuddering breath as she rubbed circles on his back to calm him down.

"Really?" he asked hopefully, and she smiled wearily.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sprung that on you like that, you were bound to think the worst. I don't want you to move out, partly because I can't face Scott being totally miserable all the time," she admitted, and he grinned a little, "but I do need you to move out of this room." She explained, and he nodded, looking around at the various amounts of stuff he had accumulated the last few months.

"Um, ok, but why? And where am I suppose to go?" he asked, and she gave him a shrewd smile.

"Isaac Lahey, you and I both know that this bed here," she said, only half stern, nodding at the bed he was meant to sleep in, "has hardly been slept in since you and Scott got back together."

Isaac felt himself going pink.

"Oh...you know about that?" he asked in shock and she smiled.

"How do you think I hid boys from my mother? That tricks even older than she is buster. Anyway, yes I know." She confirmed and Isaac laughed nervously.

"Um...if you know then why didn't-?" he mumbled and she gave him a coy look.

"Well, I was working under the theory that if I keep my mouth shut you'll do the same." She told him and he grinned.

Yeah that could work.

"Deal. Besides...I kind of want to see how long it will take Scott to figure it out without my help. Malia's the same with Stiles. I mean, we expect it from Scott but surely Stiles would have noticed you and his dad are dating?" he asked, and she smiled enigmatically.

"I think Malia's been keeping him occupied. Anyway, my mother's coming for a visit so I kind of need this room." She explained, and he did look satisfied by that explanation.

"Oh, ok. But where am I?" he began, and she sighed a little.

"Like I said, this bed has hardly been slept in. Now I know I'm going to sound like an irresponsible parent, but I thought you could move into Scott's room for a while, just while mom's here. How does that sound?" she asked and he beamed.

"Awesome, deal." He said cheerfully but she raised a finger at him.

"But hey, same rules still apply. No monkey business. You can bunk with him though while she's here ok?" she asked, and he nodded, meekly.

"Sure, got it." He said politely and she petted his cheek.

"You're a good boy. And let's face it, we both know you're the one at least trying to play by the rules. Keep it up ok, no funny business, but yes, you can stay with him while mom's here, then you can move back in here. Somehow I doubt he'll disapprove." She lamented and he grinned, and he hugged her before she got to her feet.

"You're awesome." He whispered and she hugged him back fiercely.

"I know I am. Alright, can you two hop it once you've cleared your stuff out of here so I can get some sleep?" she asked hopefully and he nodded.

"Course. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me." He assured her and she smiled a little.

"And I will continue to pretend I know nothing. Thanks honey." She said and left the room.

It wasn't until she was in her own bed, about to doze off when it hit her how absurd the entire thing was. She had already had two horny young loved up werewolves who were hopelessly in love with each other in the same house, and here she was putting them in the same room.

"I must be crazy." She complained as she beat her pillow into a decent shape and curled up to go to sleep.

XX

Peter opened the door to his apartment, the smell of must and dust somehow smelling like victory. Three months it had been since he had last set foot in Beacon Hills, and all this time he had been planning for this moment, and it was finally time to return here and begin fresh.

He had everything he needed, power, allies and the weapons he needed to assure his victory.

He had the things he needed to rip apart Scott's pack. The little true Alpha pup wasn't fit to be an Alpha, and now he was in the position to end it.

After all...he was always the Alpha.

Smirking to himself, he crossed to his dresser and pulled open the cabinet, fetching himself a bottle of malt.

After all, he was celebrating.

Celebrating his return to being an Alpha.

XX

"Scott thinks we're up to something." Isaac commented as they sat in the tattoo parlour, and Stiles, who had been trying to doze off, sent him a dirty look.

"You didn't tell him what we were doing did you? I mean if he thinks I so much as look at you funny he'll kick my ass from here to next year." He complained and Isaac sighed patiently.

"Will you give it a rest? He's fine ok? And besides, Melissa distracted him, his grandmother's coming." He informed him as he flicked curiously through the tattoo magazines.

Stiles perked up as he heard this, looking at Isaac curiously.

"Really? Which one, Melissa's mother or his dads?" he asked, the last one sounding distinctly unpleasant.

"Melissa's why?" he asked and Stiles grinned.

"Awesome, nanna McCall coming to visit, you'll love her." He told him, but to his surprise, Isaac looked slightly nervous.

"Yeah well, I'm not so sure she'll love me, after all, I'm kind of sleeping with her grandson." He said worriedly, and Stiles chuckled and patted Isaac's knee.

"You don't need to worry buddy, she won't give a shit. She never does. She took Scott and I shopping with her once when we were fourteen, we met Danny, it was just after Danny came out, Scott blurted it out as usual, and she took him shopping too since she reckoned he looked kind of down, didn't give a shit. She did blame Jackson though for him looking so down which was a bonus." He said cheerfully, but then he noticed Isaac's scrutinising look.

"What?" he asked defensively.

"You look tired, are you ok?" Isaac asked, and Stiles considered denying it out of hand.

After all, it was Scott he told this sort of stuff to, not Isaac. Yeah Isaac was his other best friend, but there was more, well just more, they were just closer, told each other more. He told Isaac some stuff, but they weren't as close as he and Scott were. But when he looked at Isaac, his face worried and tired looking as his own was, he relented.

After all, if anyone could get how he was feeling, it was Isaac, who blamed himself as much as he did. The only other one with the same amount of guilt was Lydia but she was kind of withdrawn from them all nowadays.

"Yeah, well, mostly. I had the dream last night." He said significantly, and Isaac sighed sadly.

"Yeah me too. Sucks doesn't it?" he asked, and Stiles nodded, his eyes clouded.

"Yeah it does. It's Allison the most, she just falls and I...it's my fault." Stiles whispered and Isaac looked at him sadly.

"Yeah, we all think that buddy." He whispered and Stiles looked at him desperately.

"Yeah but it was me Isaac, I was the..."

Isaac shook his head insistently.

"No you weren't. You had no control, and by that time it was pure Nogitsune." Isaac told him softly, but Stiles looked miserably out of the window.

"Doesn't change that she's dead because of me." He whispered softly, and Isaac was about to say something when the big bearded bloke who had done Scott's tattoo emerged from the back room.

"Alright, who's first?" he asked, and Isaac nodded his head at Stiles, who sent him a betrayed look but got up regardless.

Isaac smiled a little, after all this had been his idea, as a sort of bookend to the entire Nogitsune thing he had decided he was going to get a tattoo. Isaac was also very curious to see what happened here, the pack had suspected for some time that there were some...well extras from having been possessed and he was interested to see if Stiles was entirely free of the damned thing or if there were leftovers in him. He knew they weren't enough to be dangerous but they were still there, and it made him...uneasy.

"So are you the one who wants the backwards five on your shoulder?" the tattooist asked, and Stiles nodded.

"Yeah, it's Japanese, it means...self." he said nervously as he sat down in the chair and Isaac briefly wondered if he should head over and he didn't know, hold his hand or something.

However, as the tattooist got his equipment ready, Stiles took a deep steadying breath and after a little bit of hesitation, offer is left shoulder to the guy, who happily began to imprint the tattoo onto his skin, the curve of the five coming from the top of his arm and going up by his neck, and then going over by the back of the shoulder and going to the back of his neck. Isaac was watching him intently, but other than a couple of little winces, he did manage without incident, Isaac watching for anything that looked pain (Scott would kill him if Stiles got hurt) and also anything that looked vaguely Nogitsune.

And he could well understand the reasoning behind it. After the fight for his soul, to keep his identity and to stop the Nogitsune, he could understand why Stiles wanted to kind of honour the fight he had went under to keep control of himself, hence his tattoo.

With a final wince and with the dressings in place Stiles, smiling a little hopped off the seat, smiling proudly, and Isaac grinned in amusement.

"See, nothing to it." He told Isaac and Isaac scowled at him.

"Easy for you to say you're not going to have a psychotic twin blow torching you later." He mumbled and he too got onto the chair, and the tattooist gave him a cheerful grin.

"So, what is it you're after?" he asked, and Isaac exchanged a significant look with Stiles, who went a little red, gave him a rueful grin and then continued two avoid his gaze.

"Two lightning bolts around my arm, with an arrow head at the bottom of one of them." Isaac said, showing him the sketch he had done, and the tattooist nodded.

"Got it. Alright, let's get started."

XX

"Is it me or did he enjoy that far too much?" Isaac moaned, rubbing his tattoo ruefully and Stiles grinned as he drove them to the station to meet Scott.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to become a werewolf, bet you would have reconsidered if you knew you'd have a psycho murderer twin coming at you with a blow torch." He quipped and Isaac shot him a dirty look.

"Shut up you. Alright for you, you don't need it blown on to make it stick." He whined, and Stiles looked determinedly ahead, under the guise of trying to change lane.

He hadn't told Isaac this but when he had gone back through to the other room to allow Ethan to give his professional opinion (he was the one who had swiped the blowtorch from his work to help Isaac with his tattoo) and Stiles had checked the coast was clear before he had distracted Aiden from playing with said blow torch.

"_Hey...want another shot at that?" he asked softly, distracting a grinning Aiden from shooting fire in front of his face._

"_Huh?" Aiden asked and Stiles shot him an exasperated look._

"_Hey, you pair only have a few months left here and the landlady likes you, something makes me thing she won't like you quite as much if you burn the bloody place down! Anyway...look." Stiles said, and pulled off the dressings on his tattoo, Aiden putting down the blowtorch with only a slight look of disappointment and he peered at Stiles' kanji tattoo._

_It was still mostly intact, but the edges of it had begun to heal, some of it had vanished already, and he had to use his wolf eyes to see where the tattoo had originally gone to,_

"_Can you help fix it?" Stiles asked hopefully, and Aiden looked at him in shock._

"_Stiles, you're not a wolf! You're not meant to heal like that, and besides, one my Alpha would kill me and I kind of like being his friend and his Beta and his favourite, and two, it would really hurt you!" he hissed, and Stiles shook his head, and picked up the blow torch, and then gently placed a hand over Aiden's mouth. Aiden looked at him worriedly, and then his eyes bulged in alarm as Stiles scorched his hand with the torch. Stiles let out a small moan of pain and pulled away the burned hand, and to Aiden's shock some of it already started to heal._

"_You're not meant to do that, why are you healing? The Nogitsune is gone, well it better be since I almost died to make sure it was." Aiden snarled angrily, and Stiles petted his cheek reassuringly._

"_It's gone. According to Kira, there's some leftovers from the Nogitsune. It's gone. But some of it is still...in me." He told him, and Aiden snarled in frustration, looking at him worriedly._

"_Have you told Scott? I don't want to keep anything from him." He complained, and Stiles rolled his eyes._

"_Now you sound like Isaac. Please." He begged, and Aiden sighed in frustration._

"_Alright...but this better not kill you! And...only because I want to play with the torch again." He warned and Stiles nodded, and Aiden a little too cheerfully stuck a gag in his mouth, grinned as he turned on the torch again but then changed his expression to one of worry and concern as he let loose the flame on Stiles, hating himself as Stiles tried to scream through his gag._

Yeah this Nogitsune lark was having a hell of a serious side effect. He knew he had to talk to Scott about it, but...he didn't want to. He couldn't, not yet. Scott was finally relaxing around him again, no longer fretting about him and making sure he was alright. He wouldn't be the one to put Scott back on the worried defensive again, not now, especially with Derek in prison and his grandmother coming, and his own reaction to Allison dying.

Quite frankly he had enough on his plate without him adding to it.

"Hey, you with me?" Isaac asked as Stiles stopped them outside the station, to see an impatient Scott looking slightly grumpy standing outside it.

"Yeah, sorry. Aww look there's the soppy expression of love from our resident wolf on campus." He said teasingly, and Isaac swatted at him as he got out the jeep, Stiles giggling as he did so.

"Finally, grandma's train is about to get in! Where have you pair been?" he asked irritably and Isaac kissed him softly, grinning and stroking his cheek with his thumb.

"Aww do you not like me leaving you out the loop?" he asked in a voice of mock sweetness and Scott pouted.

"No!" he complained and Isaac kissed him again.

"Aww poor Scott." He said in a mock pitying voice while Stiles snickered, enjoying himself just as much as Isaac was.

"Wait, so I don't get to find out what you two have been up to?" he demanded, and Isaac smirked.

"Yeah, but not till later. Since I'm forced to move in with my gorgeous pouty boyfriend, I need to keep as much to myself as possible. You'll find out tonight I promise." Isaac assured him and Scott looked at them suspiciously before sighing in defeat.

"Be that way then, see if I care," he moaned, his tone indicating that it was driving him mad not knowing, "and let's go see grandma." He said as he led them into the station.

The train was just coming into the station as the three boys stood there, two of them perfectly at ease, the other nervous. Sensing his boyfriend's anxiety, Scott took his hand and squeezed it softly, hushing him.

"Hey, mom loves you and I love you. Grandma will too." He assured him but Isaac looked at him worriedly.

"Yeah but you're my boyfriend, what if she blames me?" he asked nervously, and Stiles patted his shoulder.

"I told you she doesn't care! She's cool. And anway, she's coming to visit, I'm so psyched." He said excitedly, and Scott looked at him as though worried about his sanity.

"You know mom always thought you had a crush on her," he said, and Isaac and Stiles, who were both fully aware that Aiden had a kind of crush on Melissa, avoided each other's eyes, "but now I'm beginning to think it's grandma you have the crush on."

"Hey, I don't have any grandparents, she's the best and only one I got. And besides, your nan is a right old witch." He told him and Scott scoffed.

"What do you expect, she gave birth to dad. That's the one you want to avoid." He told Isaac, who looked slightly overwhelmed as Scott and Stiles both perked up as they looked at the train.

"I miss playing on trains." Isaac mumbled a little as Scott dragged him through the crowd, Stiles right beside him.

The woman was just a little shorter than Isaac was, though that was partly due to the heels she was wearing. She was dressed in a pink top and a business suit, and had long two toned brown hair which was beginning to be flecked with grey. She had a large handbag in one hand and her case in the other and upon seeing Scott and Stiles approaching, her face split into a wide smile.

"There's my handsome grandson." She said happily and Scott grinned, hugging her fiercely.

"Hey grandma!" he said fondly, and she patted his cheek fondly, her eyes scrutinising him as though he were sickening for something. Apparnetly satisfied, she nodded, and reached into her bag.

"You didn't think I'd come to visit without going to the sweet shop first do you? Besides, there was a deal and who am I to pass up a bargain? Anyway, one bag of white chocolate raspberries for my favourite grandson, and I've been knitting dear, I have gloves, a scarf and a hat, what do you want?" she asked as she rummaged in her bag.

"Grandma..." Scott chided slightly (noticing Isaac perked up a little at the mere mention of the word scarf) but she waved her hand dismissively as she passed him his sweets and a pair of knitted gloves with pads on the palms.

"It took a while but I got there in the end. Oh and there's something in them that might be helpful, I picked up a couple, free at the doctor's surgery you know." She told him and curious, Scott looked inside the glove and went scarlet.

"Grandma!" he cried, scandalised, and upon him pulling the two items out, looking horror-struck, Isaac and Stiles started to laugh as he went scarlet.

"Stiles oh its so good to see you honey. Ooh I like this, gold highlights, they suit you dear. One bag of blue candy chocolate shells, just don't tell your dad I gave you them, he'll blame me for making you hyper. Here dear, you take the hat, and there's a couple in there for you too." She advised as she rummaged in her bag again, passing Stiles his things in the process, Scott sniggering as Stiles also went scarlet.

"Um how do you..." Stiles asked and she sent him a bored look.

"Pumpkin I was changing you both when your dad still had long hippie hair, I can make an educated guess. Oh hello, you're new. Nice to meet you, I'm Allegra Delgado, Scott's grandmother." Allegra said with a smile and she extended her hand to a nervous Isaac, who shook it, his hand shaking a little.

"Hi." He said shyly, not quite knowing what to do with himself, and she peered into her bag.

"Hmm, do you like coconut macaroons, there's a new bag of raspberry flavoured ones, here you are, I won't eat them, the coconut gives me an itch. And here, why don't you take this scarf, Scott never wears them." Allegra said cheerfully, and Isaac blushed a little.

"That's you on the Christmas list, you gave him a scarf, he's yours for life now." Stiles muttered and Scott sent him an amused glare to shut him up.

"You don't need to," he began but her steely expression made it clear she wasn't taking no for an answer, "but, thanks. Hey this scarf is great, it's lovely and warm." He said, trying it on and Scott and Stiles both smirked as they saw him put it on.

"Good. So, how do you fit into all this? Oh," she said, and leaned close to whisper to Isaac, "I didn't know there was another of you, and I don't know your sizes or I would have brought you some too, you're a handsome young lad." She said, and Isaac went pink.

"I'm sure you and he can come to some sort of arrangement...ow son of a bitch!" Stiles grunted as Scott kicked him in the shin.

"So dear, do I get to know your name?" she asked hopefully, and Isaac's brain suddenly kicked into gear and he tumbled over his tongue as he tried to answer, but Scott came to his rescue...or so he thought.

"Grandma, this is Isaac. He's, he's my boyfriend." Scott said, earning him a surprised look from Stiles and a look that roughly translated to 'why the hell did you tell her that' from Isaac.

And Allegra focused her gaze on the boy her grandson was now seeing, and Isaac gulped audibly.

He was going to kill Scott.

**And here we are with chapter two, and now we're possibly roughly over halfway through the first episode**

**As you can see, Allison's death and Stiles possession still continue to have an effect upon the entire pack, Lydia will be focused on more later. And Stiles, just what is going on with him? He clearly has leftover benefits of being the nogitsune, but how much are they truly affecting him?**

**I really like Stiles and Malia as a couple, I think theyre cute (laughs at those who think that means theyre relationship is safe from me)**

**Derek is also still in a predicament, and Peter has returned to town, with something no good up his sleeve as per usual**

**I enjoyed writing the part about the shopping scene, not to reinforce the stereotype (Id rather go in, get what I want then get out again, i dont shop for shoppings sake) but simply because I likd doing the scene with the various improvements. And lets face it, Isaac did need a new wardrobe, the Oni kept ripping up the one he had. And I know many of us (myself included) would prefer he wore nothing at all but sadly it isnt practical**

**And grandma has come to visit. I know Stiles called her grandma McCall (believe me we dont want to meet her, old bag) but she is melissas mother, he just sees her as scotts grandma so is hence grandma McCall. And im sure you can imagine what she swiped from the doctor's surgery, the woman cant pass up a bargain, Isaac and Malia certainly wont complain about her present to the boys**

**Anyway, once again not a lot going on, next time we shall meet all our new characters (and hopefully we meet them in the show this week too), the pack find a new place to hang out, a new power couple is born, our enemies arrive in town and since its Teen Wolf, and Beacon Hills, guess what? The body count is going to start to rise! (im going to feel bad with one death)**

**So lovely people, you know the drill as always, so please read and follow, favourite and review, I will be eternally grateful and hope youre enjoying episode 1 so far!**


	5. Episode 1: Territory Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

Allegra looked at Isaac for a moment, not saying anything and Scott began to wonder if he did the right thing by telling her. She was his grandmother, and she never really seemed to care about much like this, but well, maybe he should have talked it over with Isaac first, who was now standing looking like he was a deer caught in headlights as he waited for her to respond.

And then, to Scott's great relief, she smiled and shook Isaac's hand.

"Well, he kept that one quiet. Well it's nice to meet you Isaac. A boyfriend eh? You know your mother...hmm, better not tell you that or she'll hide the biscuits for my midnight nibbles. Well dear, I'm gagging for a cup of tea, what do you say we get home?" Allegra asked, and before she could protest a very relieved Isaac picked up her case.

"Yeah...um..." Scott said nervously and his grandmother fixed him with a steely glare.

"Sweetheart, I'm not dear granny Mildred, I don't live in the dark ages. He seems a very handsome very nice young man. And I have to say, I always wondered about you and Stiles anyway. Oh thank you Isaac, now, while this pair stutter about what I just said, how about you lead me out of here and tell me a little about yourself?" she asked, and a grinning Isaac, delighted at seeing Scott and Stiles splutter in disbelief at her comment, led the way from the station, the two of them chatting fluently.

"She wondered about us?" Stiles protested weakly, and Scott sagged a little in disbelief.

"Apparently she did. At least she likes Isaac. And has won his undying loyalty by giving him a scarf." Scott lamented slightly and Stiles shook his head.

"Told you dude, it's an unhealthy obsession. But yeah, she seems to like him but she has just met him and once she finds out he's a sarcastic bastard..." he began and Scott cut him off with amused glare.

"She likes you and you're a sarcastic bastard as well. Hang on...they're alone, there's no telling what she might be telling him." He told him worriedly, and Stiles followed him as he hurried to catch up with his boyfriend and grandmother.

"Yes Melissa did say someone was staying with her. Isaac relax, as long as you and Scott are happy I couldn't care less what goes on between you. Hmm, well maybe what I brought Scott..."

"Grandma!" Scott chided and she rolled her eyes but winked at a giggling Isaac as Scott came up beside them, Stiles in tow.

"You know him and his mother never let me have any fun." She complained as Stiles unlocked the jeep, Allegra patting it fondly.

"We let you raid the biscuit tin." Scott offered and she smiled as she clambered into the seat behind Stiles.

"Lucky me." She responded as she shut the door and Stiles got into the driver's seat, leaving Scott and Isaac alone.

And Scott then whimpered a little in pain as Isaac squeezed his ass with his claws out, eyes glowing a faint gold in annoyance.

"How about next time you decide to take us out the closet, you give me a little warning?" he hissed, though there was no real annoyance in his voice, just a slight irritation and Scott hit him with his puppy dog look.

"Aww Isaac! I just wanted her to like you, and besides, I knew she would be fine with it. But I'm sorry I sprang it on you ok? How about," he asked coyly, kissing Isaac's nose, watching as Isaac defused, "you give me a clue to what you and Stiles were doing and laugh at the torment I endure trying to figure it out?" he asked brightly, and Isaac grinned darkly.

"You'd like that wouldn't you? Well tough luck, I'm not spilling, you won't find anything out till later for that so there." He taunted and got into the back, leaving an annoyed Scott standing outside with his grandmother rapping on the window, pointing to her watch.

"I knew I should have just let the two of them keep bickering, it's easier." He complained without heat and got into the car.

With all of them safely in the jeep, Stiles drove them from the car park, allowing Allegra to settle into her seat comfortably.

"So Scott, what's new with you?" she asked, and then grinned as she looked at Isaac, "other than Isaac of course."

The next ten minutes were filled with the three of them giving Allegra the bare bones of the last few months, obviously omitting any reference to the supernatural, Allegra commenting on the incident at the hospital and upon hearing Isaac had been the only survivor immediately questioned him on why on earth he hadn't just stayed away from the electrified water and Stiles kind of jerked the jeep a little as Isaac mentioned that he had been trying to save Allison.

Allegra, her instincts honed by years of being a police woman, a mother and a grandmother, immediately picked up on something changing in the three boys as soon as Allison's name was mentioned. Scott was watching her in the mirror, her face shrewd and calculating, running through the options in her head as to what could have caused this reaction. She was looking appraisingly at Isaac, and Scott could smell her acceptance and fondness for him increasing upon hearing he had been saving a life but sensed that he too was crumbling a little.

"Scott?" she asked hesitantly, a horrible sense of foreboding growing in her stomach.

"Yeah?" he asked, feeling the scared look Stiles was giving him and the pleading one Isaac was drilling into the back of his head.

"Where's Allison? What happened?" she asked, dreading the answer.

When you had been in the force as long as she had been, you picked up on things and there was one thing you could never not pick up on, the death of a loved one.

"She...we were attacked. And the attacker's...they killed her." Scott whispered, almost silent, but it was enough for Allegra to hear and she closed her eyes in dismay.

Allison, her grandson's first love, was dead. She was so young, she hadn't even turned eighteen yet, yet she was dead at the hands of some random attacker. She shook her head grimly, resenting the world that would take such a lovely, vibrant young woman from it. She had met Allison a few times, and had been very pleased with the girl who Scott had so obviously fallen in love with, heart and soul. She had been lovely, pretty, independent, and in her humble opinion, a rather kickass good match for her baby boy.

And now she was gone.

"Oh baby I'm so sorry." She said softly, reaching across and squeezing his shoulder as he looked determinedly out at the traffic.

But the reactions of both Stiles and Isaac were also curious to her, but realising how much this was hurting them she decided to drop the subject and let the rest of the drive pass silently.

Pulling up at the house, Allegra managed a smile as she saw her tired daughter leaving her beat up old car and upon seeing her mother, she wrapped her in a fond hug.

"You look buggered. Shall we just skip the tea and go right to the wine?" Allegra asked and Melissa laughed as she watched all three of her boys head into the house, the cloud of despair hanging over them.

Her mother had mentioned Allison. She had debated with herself about whether or not she should tell her mother but had decided not to do so over the phone, it wasn't the sort of thing you told someone over the phone in her opinion.

"It looks like we have a lot to talk about." Allegra said grimly and Melissa nodded sadly.

"Yeah we do."

XX

Darkness had fallen on Beacon Hills and the moon was glimmering in the sky. For once, the forest seemed quiet. Malia was at home, trying desperately to get a handle on the Maths textbook with the help of her equally beffudled father, and no new smells were disturbing them as they looked at each other, equally clueless.

In their penthouse apartment with the rent rapidly running out, and neither of their jobs paying nearly enough to allow them to continue living there for much longer, the twins were lounging around half naked, watching DVDs and playing video games.

Noshiko and Kira were playing go, Noshiko silently proud of how far Kira had come since beginning to learn this game months ago while her father watched them with interest as he looked over his papers for the return to school the next day.

Stiles was eating a pre back to school takeout with his dad, both of them putting their heads together over Derek's situation and how to get him out of it before it blew up in all of their faces.

Danny was in his room, fear, guilt and worry gripping him as he looked at the message Mr Whittemore had sent him, wondering what his next move should be.

Lydia was doing her nails for the next day, her mind abuzz with everything and nothing when she felt a little flicker, like she heard someone calling her name, but she shook her head, no, she wasn't going to listen, not again, not when her banshee powers had...the last time they had activated was when her best friend had been murdered at the hands of a horde of murderous Oni. She wasn't going down that road again, she would refuse it with all her might, she had had enough death, Allison, very nearly Aiden, she wouldn't let it happen again.

Derek was in solitary, resenting the situation, glaring at the wall while wondering if he truly was losing his mind.

And in the McCall house, Scott, Isaac, Melissa and Allegra had sat down for a family dinner, all of them blissfully unaware of what was going on in the rest of the town.

A cloud shifted, and the figure shifted on the branch he was standing on, his brown eyes scanning the area for any sign of them as his breath puffed cold in front of him.

They were on their way, he could feel it. Agravaine, and his poisonous, noxious presence, it was approaching Beacon Hills. The Ghost Pack was coming here, all seven of them, all twisted, corrupted perversions of themselves, all of them monsters.

And now, for the last time, Thomas Hollis was getting ready to once more take the fight to his eternal enemy.

Agravaine, his nemesis, was coming here to Beacon Hills, but this time, there was something different. For decades, the two of them had been stuck in an endless battle of wits and strength, pitting against one another, and despite everything, the two of them were still doing this dance even all these years later.

But this was different.

Hollis was getting old. In fact, despite everything he had done, his deep immersion in magic, he was actually dying. His body, altered and marred by magic as it had been, couldn't stop what was coming now. He wasn't like the other species, he wasn't like Agravaine. They had been born, or made by other forces. Hollis had done this to himself, and now his tired body was beginning to fail him. It couldn't take anymore, and very soon now, he would draw his last breath.

But he made this vow, as he looked to the crescent moon, that he would have his revenge before he did die.

He wasn't going to leave this world on his own.

Agravaine was going to come with him and he was going to make damn sure that no matter what happened next, he was going to ensure the death of the man who had taken everything from him.

The cloud shifted further, and threw his body into moonlit relief. He was reasonably tall, his broad shoulders drooped tiredly. His own body's fight against him was robbing him of his energy, and now it was becoming harder and harder to keep up the pretence of all this. He had long black curly hair, hanging to just above his shoulders, and his face was half covered in days old stubble. While well built, he was also light, which was rather useful for his endeavours in his efforts to destroy Agravaine. His black lifeless eyes, long ago deprived of soul by loss and magic, stared out into the night, the time when he was most effective. The wind whistled through the trees, stirring him slightly, and then, he heard a noise coming from behind him.

And he swivelled his head one hundred and eighty degrees and he could he looked down slightly to see he was already transforming, his shoulders were bulging as he started to transform. Ignoring this, he looked out to see two young men walking...

His vision went red as he heard the joyful bark of their pet dog, and he could feel his ire rising as they got closer to the tree he was standing on. They didn't realise, none of them did, they thought, but he was the only one who knew the truth.

The two men were petting the pet Labrador, the dog panting happily as the two young men chatted and talked and with a surge of rage at seeing their happiness, the fact that their lives were unmarred by misery, despair and tragedy, and worse, that dog...

Hollis turned his body around, making himself look like a normal human again, well at least in posture, his head was no longer looking out over his back.

And then the transformation took hold. Black feathered wings burst painfully from his back, the ridges of them attaching themselves to his outstretched arms. His hands turned yellow and scaly, like a chickens foot, with lethal black talons puncturing beneath his nails and growing in place of his fingernails, his nails vanishing. His muscular legs were suddenly changing into downy feathers, their strong muscles toughening as his body hardened into its changes around it, his legs now becoming the same consistency as his hands, his feet turning into long thin feet, with three long, thin, grasping toes with black talons erupting from each of the three of them. A tail made of sharp black feathers then erupted from his back as his body transformed, his skin becoming covered in jagged, lethal black feathers, all of them pure black with only a few flecks of grey mottling the downy feathers that now covered his chest. His head then began to change, swelling in size, his head becoming a part of his body, no longer attached by a neck but instead mounted atop his shoulders. His eyes bulged, going amber, then fixing on their shining dark orange, his pupils having turned to slits. His face shimmered as feathers emerged there too, dark grey in a heart shape that covered most of his face, and his eyebrows and hair transformed into feathers, though his eyebrows started to transform into little peaked ears, sharp little points on the top of his head resembling horns. And then, the transformation completed as his nose melted into his silently screaming mouth, and a vicious orange beak emerged as Hollis raised his head into the night, his orange eyes focusing on the two young men further ahead, their dog now growling making them look around worriedly, wondering what it sensed, not realising it sensed it was now the target for an apex predator.

Thomas Hollis was the Owlman.

And with a screech, he launched himself from the tree, the wind whistling in his wings as he swooped down towards them, orange eyes filled with hate and the dog started barking in panic, and as one of them got his leash on, the other looked to see what the dog was barking at.

He barely started to scream when Hollis lethal beak ripped the blond spiky haired guy's throat out, blood splattering all over the dog's golden coat and the other guy's face. The quiffed brunette youth screamed and the dog tried to make a bolt for it as blood spurted from the severed blood vessels in his neck and collapsed backwards onto the ground, blood pooling from his neck. With a vicious screech, the Owlman soared after the whining and barking dog, which was pounding away, determined to escape, but then the dog's panicked howls were cut short as the talons on Hollis' feet ripped the unfortunate animal into pieces as he landed on top of it, the last panicked member of the group screaming all the louder as he saw the demise of his pet. Soaring into the cold night air, the young man had no chance, and though he was running as fast as he could, he was simply no match for him and Hollis landed right behind him and made as if to wrap him in a bear hug, and the screaming youth suddenly went quiet as he impaled himself upon the talons on Hollis' hands. Hollis stuck the talons in deep, blood spurting through the air and falling onto the frost covered ground and Hollis allowed the dead youth to collapse face first into the cold earth.

Blood seeping from the dead bodies, Hollis gave a merciless, cold blooded screech and began to feast, his bloodlust temporarily quelled, and all the while, thoughts of ripping Agravaine's throat out with his beak filling his mind as he filled his stomach.

XX

"He seems a nice lad." Allegra said as she and her daughter saw in the living room, enjoying a final glass of wine before bed.

"Yeah he is. And thank you for telling them so many embarrassing stories about me by the way." She complained, and her mother smirked.

"Well Scott at least has the right to know, you are his mother after all. There's more isn't there? To Allison dying?" she asked shrewdly, trying to catch Melissa off guard and her daughter sighed.

This was the problem with the supernatural, she couldn't give her mother the full story, no matter how much she may have wanted to. Finding out her grandson now had a boyfriend was all very well and good but finding out he was a werewolf on top of that, well that just wasn't going to go down nearly as well as the last big mouthful she'd had to swallow.

"Well, kind of," she said, deciding to give her some measure of the truth, "see, Stiles and Lydia were together," she began and her mother cut across her.

"Oh he didn't settle for her did he? I know he was mooning after her all these years but she treats him, if you'll pardon the expression, like shit dear." She said in distaste and Melissa smiled.

"She's come around a lot. Maybe too much since she seems to be returning to form slightly, but no, he isn't with her, he's fallen for a girl called Malia, she lived wild in the forest for eight years." She told her, enjoying the rather overwhelmed expression on her mother's face as she processed this bit of information.

"Wild in the forest..." she repeated weakly, but before she could be interrupted again, Melissa pressed on.

"See they were trapped, so Scott and the others went to go and get them. That's when they got attacked, and Allison was killed. There wasn't anything they could do, she didn't stand a chance." She recounted sadly, and her mother narrowed her eyes in distaste at whoever had murdered the poor girl.

"Melissa?" she urged gently, and Melissa sighed.

"Well, you know what she meant to Scott. She was Lydia's best friend. She was friends with all of them. But, well, all of them blame themselves, Stiles, Lydia, Isaac, they all blame themselves because they reckon she died trying to save them, and Scott blames himself because he couldn't do anything. See...Scott and Isaac got together for a little while before now, but when Scott dumped him, later!" she insisted, stopping her mother interrupting again, "Isaac and Allison started to hang out, and I think that if Isaac hadn't been in love with Scott they probably would have been together. That's kind of why I asked you to come up mom, I need help." She said mournfully, and Allegra nodded.

"You want me to talk to them?" she asked, and Melissa nodded.

"Yeah. I know they're coping, to an extent but...I want to help them, but they won't talk to me. It's Stiles in particular I'm worried about, he seems off ever since it happened, and even though I've tried..."

"Darling they're teenagers. And you know as well as I do that there's no set guidelines for these things." Allegra said, only slightly chiding, and Melissa nodded.

"I know that mom. I just think that we can help, make them feel a little better, oh I don't know." She said in despair, not knowing where to go with this.

Allegra nodded sagely.

"You want to help them honey, it's only natural. I'll talk to the boys at least, see if I can't get them to open up a little bit, something like this...but that isn't the only reason you wanted me here was it?" she asked with a slight smile and Melissa smirked.

"What, I can't want to see my mom?" she asked, and she raised a pencilled eyebrow at her daughter.

"My dear Melissa, you have always had an ulterior motive ever since your father taught you the meaning of the phrase. Come on spill." She ordered, and Melissa sighed, looking around the room wearily.

"I want your advice." She said with a sigh and Allegra nodded, looking around the house.

"How bad as it?" she asked, sipping her wine.

"Well that's what I want your opinion on. Mom the place is falling apart, the walls are bad, the wiring is terrible, the entire place needs decorated, there's damp, there's mould in places, I'm pretty sure there's a nest of dead raccoons under the house, and the entire house is just about ready to give up the ghost. And quite frankly, I can't afford to fix it." She said, and Allegra nodded.

"Well if it's money you want darling," she began, but was cut off by Allegra shaking her head.

"No mom, I don't want money! I mean..."

"Is it to do with Isaac?" Allegra asked gently, and Melissa winced, fearing her son's boyfriend's wolf hearing may pick up on this.

"Oh of course not, he's no trouble. If I didn't have him here, I don't think either Scott or I would be as happy as we are, and besides, all keeping him requires would only get me a new door mat anyway. The kid keeps trying to give me money for keeping him but I'm not having it. No, my problem is the house is falling apart, and what with one thing or another I just can't afford to fix it." She lamented grimly, looking where the paint was beginning to peel off the ceiling in the corner of the room.

Allegra looked at her daughter in frustration.

"Melissa, if that's the case, I will give you the money! It doesn't have to be a gift, I know what you're like getting money from people, it can be a loan if you want." She assured her, but Melissa shook her head.

"That isn't why I asked you here mom. I know you would give me the money, that's not the issue. What I'm wondering is, is it worth persevering, trying to fix it a little at a time, or...should I admit defeat and sell the place?" she asked softly, and Allegra, shocked, put her glass down on the table and looked at her as if she was seeing her in person for the first time.

"Melissa, this house..." she whispered hoarsely, and Melissa nodded wearily.

"I know, it's been in the house for about four generations, hell you and I both grew up here. But the place is falling apart, and I can't afford to fix it." She said, sounding a little like the little girl Allegra had once raised.

Allegra pursed her lips, considering the problem. The place had been old when she had given it to Melissa, letting her remain in town while she and her husband had moved to San Francisco, and it had needed some work then. But a good deal of water had passed under the bridge since then, including a young boy who had grown up into a fine young man, and well, she could see why Melissa was considering just selling it rather than struggling on with the problem.

If only she hadn't married that twerp Rafe McCall and had found herself a nice man, but no, it wasn't to be. Feeling slightly better for blaming the idiot who had married her little girl, she laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Have you had any estimates done?" she asked, and Melissa nodded.

"Yeah, a few, none of them pretty. I don't want to move mom, but...I don't want the bailiffs coming when I can't pay the bills or feed the kids. I just don't see what I can do, either I persevere and go bankrupt, or I fix the house and still go bankrupt. The cost of it to fix is a hell of a lot more than I earn in a year. Hell, even adding in Scott and Isaac's little salaries it's still more." She said wearily, draining her glass and kneading her forehead.

Allegra looked at her daughter, her eyes, so alert for signs of weariness and sickness in Scott, now trained on her daughter. She looked tired, drawn out, burnt out even, and she also looked like she had lost a little weight and not the good way.

Time to take things in hand.

"Alright sweetheart, that's quite enough of that. The kids are back to school tomorrow yes, and you're off. You are going to stay off, even if the place falls to the ground without you, you are staying off. You and I are going to get up in the morning, get the boys to school, and then we'll sit down, and look at everything that's wrong with the house. And then, and there shall be no arguments about this young lady, I am taking my girl out for lunch, no arguments. Comprende?" she asked, and Melissa looked at her as if she were about to argue, so she fixed her with the same gaze that had frozen many a criminal.

"I said, comprende?" she insisted, and Melissa allowed herself a small smile and nodded, admitting defeat.

"Yes mom." She responded and Allegra nodded.

"Good girl. It'll be alright dear," she promised, wrapping her arm around Melissa's shoulder, "nothing else has got us before now, nothing will get us now. We've gotten through worse than dear, we'll get through this too. You'll see. So, um...what did you get for midnight snacking?" she asked hopefully as they passed the kitchen and Melissa shook her head in amusement.

"Nothing." She replied with a small grin, and Allegra looked at her scandalised.

"Just for that, only two courses tomorrow, fancy not getting me something for my midnight nibbling." She scolded without heat and Melissa laughed, hoping that the biscuits she had bought would remain unmolested for at least one night.

XX

"Your grandma is awesome. Mind you so is your mom since she's actually letting me sleep here." Isaac said brightly as he laid across Scott's bed, and Scott fixed with a pout and puppy dog eyes, and a smug Isaac grinned and took his hand, pulling him onto the bed.

"Aww honey, you look miffed about something. Want to tell me about it?" he purred in his ear, nuzzling his cheek with his nose, though he already knew what was bothering his boyfriend and he was enjoying it immensely.

"What were you and Stiles up to?" Scott whined desperately, turning to face his boyfriend, as Isaac reared back onto his haunches.

"Oh you want to know that," he asked as if it were new information, relishing the dirty look Scott was giving him, not knowing was really annoying him, "why didn't you say so?" he asked, but despite relishing winding Scott up, he was a little nervous, what if Scott didn't like it?

So, slightly nervous, he pulled his long sleeved top off, revealing the two black lightning bolt tattoos on his arm, which he'd had copied on the other side of his arm to make it look kind of three dimensional. The top one was the normal jagged lightning bolt, the bottom one was the one with the arrow head at the bottom, and he looked nervously at Scott who was scrutinising the tattoos silently.

"I like it." Scott whispered huskily, tracing his finger around the tattoo experimentally.

"Really?" Isaac asked hopefully, and Scott fixed his brown eyes on his boyfriend and kissed him.

"Yeah, they're hot. Why lightning bolts? And the arrow-oh." He said, realising the second answer and Isaac looked at him hesitantly.

"It's ok right, I mean, one it looks cool and you know, I, you," he whispered and Scott leaned in and kissed him, shutting off his stuttering explanation.

"I get it. I think it's sweet." He whispered, kissing Isaac's cheek a little, as he once again traced the tattoos.

"Um...you probably won't like why I got lightning bolts." Isaac said, looking a little guilty, and just as Scott was about to ask why, it suddenly clicked.

"Seriously? You're celebrating nearly dying from being electrocuted while I was worried sick?" he demanded, but before he could complain anymore, Isaac kissed him fiercely to shut him up, lowering him to the bed and hanging above him.

"No silly, I'm celebrating surviving it so my jackass ex boyfriend could get back together with me." He corrected, and Scott allowed himself a grin.

"Alright, fine, that sounds better. Wait...hang on you're a wolf, who torched you?" he demanded angrily and Isaac rolled his eyes patiently.

"Never you mind, I told them it was fine. Besides, Derek did it to you and I don't want him dead." He pointed out, and Scott glowered.

"We weren't dating then, Isaac, someone, ie, a twin, burnt you! Which one was it?" he demanded, and Isaac laid a finger over his mouth, shutting him up.

"You are a sweet but overprotective pain in my ass," he scolded, and Scott's gaze softened slightly, "I'm not going to tell you. One I told them it was fine and that you would leave them alone, two, because said twin will be miserable, and three, think of it this way, if he hadn't, you wouldn't be stroking it now." He pointed out with a superior grin, and Scott scowled a little but did relent.

"I suppose so. It was Aiden though wasn't it? Don't worry, I won't tell him off or anything, the jerk's quickly mastering the kicked puppy look like you have." He lamented, and Isaac sniggered.

"Yeah it was, and by the way, he is alarmingly fond of that blowtorch." He told him, lying back onto his pillows and Scott laid down beside him, stroking his tattoo on his right arm, then kissing his shoulder gently.

"Great, not only a reformed murderer but an arsonist now as well." Scott complained with a slight smile and Isaac sniggered, then made an impatient noise in his throat which Scott took as his cue to take his top off, which he did, lying down beside Isaac who ran his hand up his warm, bare, muscular chest.

"It's fine. So, you really like it?" he asked and Scott nodded and grinned.

"Oh yeah." He said, kissing him softly, and Isaac smiled coyly.

"Good, I got something else, but that's for later." He taunted him, and Scott poked him hard.

"You know, you're cruel." He complained and Isaac kissed him lightly.

"I know. You'll enjoy it though, and I kind of need to go back to school so I can do it. You'll see." He promised, leaving Scott to look at him in confusion as Isaac stripped down to his boxers.

"I still say you're cruel. Hey, aren't we?" Scott asked hopefully, and Isaac grinned.

"Not with your mom and grandma in we aren't. Besides, we have tryouts tomorrow, and I'd rather like to be dating a member of the lacrosse team, which means you need to rest." He told him, his eyes glinting cockily, and Scott sighed, slightly deflated.

"Fine. Party pooper." He moaned, stripping down to his boxers and getting under the covers, where he was immediately joined by Isaac cuddling into him and despite himself, he smiled, he loved when Isaac cuddled into him like this.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow I promise. And besides," he whispered lustfully, slowly stroking his hand down Scott's belly, "just because we're not having sex doesn't mean that I can't entertain you in other ways." He whispered and as Scott moved to kiss him goodnight, Isaac pulled down his boxers a little, grinned evilly and made Scoot gasp a little as he got to work, kissing him passionately as he did it.

XX

The first day back was always hell, with people running about late or trying to find classes. You would think by the second semester, people would know better but no, that was too easy, and besides, the various staff changes (necessitated by murders and sacrifices) were not helping anyone, least of all poor Malia.

She slammed her locked shut, claws digging into the metal when she suddenly felt two familiar hands wrap around her waist and Stiles lean his chin on her shoulder.

"Hey, calm down, all the teachers are on this 'pupils must all contribute' kick, Kira's dad does it as well." He assured her and she growled.

"He's a nice teacher. Ms Flemming doesn't seem to care that I was a fecking coyote who could rip her guts out for the last eight years. Reckon I could convince Aiden to kill her for me?" she grumbled, and Stiles kissed her cheek.

"Probably, I think he misses killing things a little. And you didn't do that badly." He lied loyally, and she glowered at him, though there was smouldering affection in her lethal stare too.

"Stiles, even Greenberg, the kid who had been held back two years now, got it." She complained bitterly, and he turned her around to face him and kissed her softly, his hand twining in her hair and he could feel her calming down a little.

"I know, but Greenberg, an idiot though he is, wasn't living wild in the forest eating rabbits as brain food for eight years. You were. Besides, I thought Lydia was helping you with your maths?" he asked and she pouted.

"Yeah but I'm not as smart as she is and I think she gets frustrated because I'm not getting it. And she keeps trying to persuade me to wear shoes." She whined, looking at her bare feet and he grinned, he enjoyed that little quirk of his girlfriend's, and Lydia's frustration with it even more.

"Well, how about you ask Kira to help too? I would but you distract me when I'm trying to study." He whispered playfully and Malia kissed him, holding his chin tightly as she did it.

"I thought you liked being distracted?" she asked coyly, and Stiles smirked.

"Sometimes. Come on, it's lunch, the perfect opportunity for you to vent about unfair teachers. Count yourself lucky you avoided Harris. Harsh though it is, the Darach did us a favour by killing him." He said, taking her hand and leading his sulky girlfriend to the table outside.

It was sunny but cool as they reached the table that, as one of the main power groups in the school, they had basically claimed as their own and no one dared try to contradict them, though that admittedly might have been more to do with the twins than anything else, scowling darkly at anyone who got delusions of grandeur and got too close.

"Where is everyone?" Malia asked, thrown off a little by the absence of Isaac and Ethan, and it appeared as if Lydia and Kira also weren't there. As a result, Danny, Scott and Aiden were all chatting and trying and failing not to look slightly put out by the absence of their other halves.

"What tryouts are on today?" Malia asked, figuring that's where they would be, and Stiles considered the possibility.

The off season for lacrosse always meant a buzz of excitement when team tryouts came on the first day back after winter break, but they weren't until after school. There were other ones going on, but having no interest in any others (running for your life was a good substitute for cross country if nothing else) he wasn't sure what they were.

He was about to head over to join the others when a new girl, searching in her bag for her ringing phone, walked right into him, and it was only his quick thinking (well, less to do with the girl and more to stop himself falling) that he grabbed Malia's hand and prevented her from clawing the girl as she staggered backwards looking perplexed.

"Oh god I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going. Are you ok?" she asked, and Stiles took in the girl, who he realised that despite this being the second semester, he did not recognise this girl.

Giving Malia a look which basically told her the girl hadn't been trying to hurt him, making her reluctantly retract her claws, he looked at the new girl curiously.

"Yeah, it's fine. I've not seen you about before, are you new?" he asked, and she nodded, smiling a little.

Fairly tall, with long dark brown hair mixed with blonde, she was clad in jeans and a black tank top, wrapped in a red jacket. She had brown eyes, but they were totally different from Scott's, there was something a lot more, predatory, about this girl.

"Yeah I got to town about three months ago, situations changed, people didn't do as they were told so I had to move here. I'm Melody." She said, holding out her hand, which Stiles shook.

"Stiles. This is Malia." He said, and after glowering at her for a second, Malia nodded and shook her hand as well.

"Hi. I'm new too." She said, giving a fair stab at being friendly, and Melody smiled.

"Yeah, well it sucks, science is giving me a major headache." She complained, and Malia nodded eagerly, smiling a little.

"Yeah, me too! Not as much as maths though, I just don't get it." She complained and Melody tilted her head in sympathy.

"Yeah that does suck. Well, since we're struggling, as new kids, how about we try and struggle together? We can try and figure it out...or abuse the teachers, one of the two." The new girl said brightly, and Malia nodded happily.

"Yeah, great. Um, see you later?" she asked, and Melody smiled.

"Yeah I will. Aw crap it was my psycho brother who called, see you!" she said cheerfully as she headed off and Stiles favoured Malia with a proud smile as the absentee pack members finally deigned to arrive, Isaac and Ethan's quiffed hair slightly wet and Isaac with the scarf Allegra had knitted around his neck.

"Aww, you made a friend all by yourself." He teased, well half teased, he was proud of her since her social skills were virtually the same as Aiden's, just without the murderous impulses.

"Go me." She said happily as they headed to their table.

Melody turned back to look at Malia and Stiles as they headed to the pack table. She loathed being here, horrible places American high schools. Well, truth be told she had been taught in the Alcazar her entire life but still, it didn't help the fact that she really didn't want to be here. But she was here with a job to do, and the first test had been passed. She had ingratiated herself with one member of the pack, and slow and steady would do the rest, all the better to spy on them.

But most crucial of all was the fact that Malia, who through her long range observations she had discovered had the best sense of smell of the entire pack, and the hapless coyote hadn't even guessed to her true nature.

Excellent.

And now, smirking to herself, she rummaged for her phone, because she actually had been called by Zadan and at least now she could shut him up if he decided to taunt her on taking too long to make friends.

"Where have you lot been?" Danny asked in confusion, and sitting at the opposite end of the table from Aiden, who looked confused at this since the seat opposite and beside him was free, Lydia focused her gaze on the other guy.

"My sweet Danny, it's first day back after winter break, which means tryouts are on. And what has been our longest standing tradition since we came here?" she asked, slightly waspishly, and Danny's jaw dropped.

"I forgot about swim team tryouts!" he bemoaned, and Lydia nodded, slightly amused but also merciless in her punishment.

"Exactly! Since we started high school you and I have gone to watch the swim tryouts every year and you stood me up, I had to take Kira, who I'm afraid isn't quite the seasoned judge of attractive young boys that you are yet despite my inspired tutelage." She said, and Kira, sitting beside her, grinned a little.

"I resent that. I'm just not a natural maneater like you are." She retorted, and the others grinned.

"Hmph. Anyway, you stood me up and as such missed the annual parade of hot young men all dripping wet for us to focus on." Lydia scolded Danny, Aiden glowering at her.

"Hey, remember me?" he demanded, and she fixed with a pitying look.

"It's nothing like that! It's just like going to a gallery and appreciating the paintings." She assured him, but Aiden was far from convinced, but let it go.

"Anyone interesting?" Danny asked, as if he wasn't supremely interested, and Lydia grinned maddeningly.

"Oh yes, a good mix this year. And to make matters worse, you not only stood me up from our long standing arrangement, but you also missed your boyfriend's tryout." She told him, and Danny turned to Ethan in shock.

"You tried for the swim team? Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded as Aiden also looked down the table at his twin.

"Or me?"

"Well you would have wound me up for being a sissy, that's why," he replied, and Aiden grinned a little, yeah that sounded like him, "and I know I told you I'll try out for lacrosse but, well I'd prefer other things so I tried out." He explained to Danny, who poked him but carried on.

"And?" he insisted and Ethan grinned.

"Well I made the team." He said proudly, and Danny kissed his cheek.

"You also missed the chance to see Isaac try out as well." Lydia added innocently, and Scott looked at him in surprise as Isaac grinned sheepishly.

"What is this, keep Alpha boyfriend in the dark week? Why didn't you tell me you were going to try out for the swim team?" he demanded, and Isaac shrugged.

"I don't know, I just didn't want to parade it." He said, and Scott affected a hurt look.

"I wouldn't have paraded it!" he protested, and Isaac grinned.

"No but you'd have told Stiles who would have." He pointed out, and after a second, Scott nodded, conceding the point.

"Cheap shot." Stiles muttered and Malia sniggered beside him.

"How did you do?" Aiden asked curiously, and Scott looked at Isaac, wanting the answer as well and Isaac grinned cockily at him.

"How do you feel about dating the captain of the swim team?" he asked, and Scott grinned widely.

"Really? Awesome! Oh no, mom will be nauseatingly proud of you. Ah well, that's your problem, congratulations." He said, kissing Isaac a little, wrinkling his nose as he got a whiff of chlorine from him.

"Thanks!" he said happily, and Aiden grinned.

"You do realise that everyone in the school will now have a reason to watch your virtually naked boyfriends." He pointed out, and Scott swatted at him, making the others laugh as his beta ducked to avoid the blow.

"Who else is on the team? Well done buddy." Stiles said after congratulating Ethan, and Isaac frowned thoughtfully.

"It's not like the lacrosse team, where you get more of a say, I get some say but because it's bigger I can't really choose who's all going to be in the team. Anyway, Danielle is in the team." He said, indicating the girl who had been one of the Darach's sacrifices best friend as she walked across the ground.

"Really?" Malia asked in slight disbelief as she looked at Danielle, and Stiles tapped her hand with his finger.

"Sweetie, remember what we said about tact?" he asked, and Malia looked resentful and shut up.

"Doesn't matter anyway, she was amazing at the butterfly stroke, best time of the lot of them, she beat Ethan too and he's a wolf." Kira informed them, and Danny looked at Isaac.

"Who else?"

"Caleb, who's over there trying to get his leg over Emily as usual," Isaac said in amusement, pointing to the guy who was much the same height, build and hair colour as he was, wearing a low cut tshirt as he talked to a pretty red head, "Garrett, um..."

"Is he the cute blond one over there talking to Mason and that new kid, Liam wasn't it?" Scott asked, nodding to the three freshman who were taking to Liam like a duck to water.

"The cute one?" Isaac asked in amused disbelief and Scott went a little red as the entire pack laughed at his little slip.

"Um, well he, I mean, that's to say..."

"You sir, have a type." Stiles said smugly and Scott looked at him in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

Lydia grinned.

"Actually you have two types. Type one is girls, who are beautiful, strong, independent, kick ass, pale and brunette, ie Allison and Kira from your brief thing for her." She said, and Kira smirked a little.

"In other words girls who could kick his ass!" she said brightly, and Scott shot her an affronted look.

"And your other type is cute, sarcastic, cocky, pale, stubborn blond guys, ie Isaac and now Garrett." Danny said in glee while Ethan sniggered beside him and Scott opened his mouth in protest.

"What, no! I don't fancy Garrett he's just...well he is cute isn't he?" Scott asked Danny desperately and Danny cast an appraising eye over at Liam, Mason and Garrett and then immediately whispered to Ethan, both of them nodding in agreement.

"Well, yeah, kind of, but he's more your sort of thing." Ethan said teasingly, and Scott glowered at him.

"I am going to make you and your sniggering hyena of a twin here," he said, swiping at a cackling Aiden while the others laughed, "regret ever having the gall to join my pack." He warned grumpily, and Isaac kissed his cheek.

"Aww relax, they're having fun. And yes he is cute, but, well...Liam's more my sort of thing." He said playfully and Scott looked over at Liam and shook his head.

"I don't see it." He said, and Lydia leaned over to a grinning Stiles.

"Funny that." She quipped and he snorted in amusement.

"I don't like you people anymore." Scott moaned, and Stiles grinned.

"Hey are you going for cheerleading this year Lydia?" Danny asked, and he noticed as Aiden perked up a little bit at the thought of Lydia cheerleading.

"Yep, tryouts are day after tomorrow. Are you two joining me?" she asked Malia and Kira, and Malia shrugged.

"Might do, it might be fun." She said musingly, but Kira shook her head.

"It's not really my thing. I think I might try for the actual cross country team I like that." She said and Ethan nodded, looking happy.

"Good then I'll have someone I know doing it with me, because someone who shall remain nameless," he said, shooting a dirty look at Danny, who didn't notice as he was too busy looking worriedly at his phone, "is ignoring me every time I ask him to tryout with me since I'm doing lacrosse for him."

"Yeah but you're not being properly ignored though are you?" Aiden muttered bitterly, but only Scott heard him and it occurred to him that Danny looked anxiously at his phone a lot nowadays when Lydia piped up.

"So, are you all trying out for lacrosse?" she asked innocently, not noticing as Kira went a little pink.

"It's lacrosse tryouts Lydia, everyone tries out for them." Stiles explained in exasperation, and Aiden looked at Scott curiously.

"What even you need to try out for them?" he asked, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, well, it's a kind of formality...I think." He said, his confidence wavering slightly, and Ethan looked at him, his expression almost pitying.

"Wait, didn't you see the posters? It's an open tryout. As in nothing's been filled. By any of you." He explained, and as one, Scott, Stiles, Isaac and Danny looked at him in alarm.

"Wait, what?" Stiles demanded weakly, and Malia nodded, patting her boyfriend's hand reassuringly.

"It's all positions, I thought you knew. Don't worry, you'll be fine, and if not, Kira and I will beat them up for you right Kira?" she asked hopefully and Kira smiled and nodded.

"Sure will. You'll all be fine, besides, you're all old members, coach may be insane but he knows you guys are good, why would he keep anyone but you?" she asked and Isaac deflated a little bit.

"So all you need to do is have good grades to keep going?" Aiden asked innocently, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah which was usually my problem since..."

"You suck." Stiles supplied helpfully, still smarting over the injustice, he had finally made the team last season but because it was a new season he had to go right back to the beginning again. And it wasn't as if the others would get in, they were all werewolves for god sake, they would be fine regardless, but what was he? A possession victim with a little leftover evil fox in him.

"And it's good for everyone, everyone wants to date the lacrosse players...well except Greenberg. And Stiles to an extent." Lydia mused and Malia looked at her, supremely annoyed.

"Meaning what exactly miss high and mighty, my boyfriend not good enough for you?" she asked, claws growing a little but Stiles took her hand to defuse the situation and kissed it, making her simmer down.

"No of course not, but you never saw him before he grew his hair, before then he looked like a convict, he's gotten way sexier since then." Lydia assured her, which seemed to content the coyote.

"Well that's alright then." She said and kissed Stiles hand in turn.

"So does that mean all the girls pay attention to lacrosse players? Even ones who are meant to have a boyfriend?" Aiden challenged, and Lydia nodded.

"Well yes obviously, they're usually the most popular guys in school." She told him, and he looked across at her as if pleading with her for something.

"So does that mean you'll pay attention to me then?" he asked hopefully, and the entire pack suddenly started rummaging in their bags or talking to each other or faking phone calls so they didn't get caught in the middle of _that _conversation.

"I-" Lydia began just as the bell rang, and the entire pack sighed in relief that that little showdown had been avoided.

Ethan turned to watch though as Lydia got up from the table and virtually fled to her next class, Aiden hurrying along behind her, trying desperately to get her to talk to him to no avail.

XX

"Either way it was still harsh." Stiles said as he trotted out onto the field for tryouts after school finished, and Scott sighed a little.

"I know, but when has Lydia ever been the most sympathetic of people? She treated you like crap for years, and now she's doing it to Aiden too. I thought she'd grown out of it. I reckon Kira's right, this is more than the fallout from Allison." He said worriedly, looking around the field and seeing Lydia and Malia sitting together in the stands, both of them with drinks watching intently for the start of the tryouts.

"Is there a pack relationship counsellor?" Stiles asked as they neared the crowd, where Ethan was talking to Isaac with a scowl on his face, and Scott gave him a humourless grin.

"We could ask Deaton." He suggested and smirked as he heard Stiles give a slightly menacing animal like growl of his own at the mention of the vet.

Yeah the vet still wasn't anyone's favourite person in the pack.

"No thanks. What did we miss?" Stiles asked as they joined the other two, and Ethan scowled over at Lydia.

"Other than her screwing my brother around and my dumbass brother being too dumb to see it, not much." He griped, glaring at an oblivious Lydia as a rather despondent Aiden walked onto the field.

Scott turned to Stiles, about to suggest he talk to Aiden when Isaac, who was peering at the goals, tapped his shoulder.

"We have another problem." He said, and Scott followed the finger he was pointing with to see Liam put another ball into the net, making the other clustered boys cheer and applaud.

"He got a good shot, so what?" Stiles asked, and Ethan smiled humourlessly.

"That's the twentieth score he's made in about five minutes." He explained, and Scott's eyes widened.

"Seriously? Who the hells in goal?" he demanded, figuring it was some new kid who was equally as bad at saving as Liam was at pitching.

"That would be Danny. The kid's good. Scary good. And, by the looks of things, he's the one you need to beat." Isaac said before kissing Scott's cheek and heading off to talk to Caleb, who was showing off for the girls in the stands.

"But he's a freshman! A really good freshman admittedly, how did he do that?" Scott demanded weakly as he watched Liam stand backwards and face the group and throw the ball right past an increasingly frustrated Danny and into the net.

Liam was grinning and receiving pats on the back from the others, except Mason and Garrett, as Mason was looking at Liam appreciatively, and irritated, Garrett clicked his fingers in front of his face bringing him back to reality with a guilty look.

"I don't know but he's making my boyfriend look crap. Can I claw him?" Ethan asked hopefully, and he pouted when Scott shook his head, slightly amused, and he stroked his slick hair worriedly, yeah, this Liam kid was seriously good to take down Danny so often.

"Did we check if he's a you know what?" Stiles muttered, and Ethan turned to him.

"That's what I thought, so I strolled on by and had a good sniff, I couldn't get anything off him but I did find out someone smoked pot at lunch." He told them and Scott shook his head.

"That's probably that idiot Marcus." He said, looking at the guy who was waving about as he walked in distaste.

"Did you ask Malia?" Stiles asked, and Ethan nodded.

"Yeah, she came and had a sniff too, he is actually just that good, he isn't a creature as far as we can tell. But Stiles, Levi was definitely flirting with Malia, sorry dude." He told the other boy and Stiles looked furiously at the younger boy, and he then turned expectantly to Ethan.

"Well, get him, rip him up or something!" he ordered furiously and as Scott and Ethan laughed, Coach blew the whistle, bringing the entire group to order.

"Alright you pansies, look I know things have changed since last season, Jackson left, Boyd...well he isn't here anymore," he said gruffly and Aiden and Ethan shifted guiltily while Isaac scowled, "but that doesn't matter because we are the Cyclones, and we are going to get a new team and we are going to whip their asses, eh I mean butts. Stop sniggering Greenberg, honestly, you shouldn't even still be here. Alright ladies, marathon around the field, go now!" Coach yelled, and with that the entire group burst into movement and began to run as Coach kept blowing the whistle to make them go faster.

"Who's the kid in the full gear setup?" Aiden asked Ethan, and his twin shrugged, looking back at a kid who was dressed in the entire uniform with the helmet down, covering their face.

"See, that's dedication, full gear already! Stop winking at me Greenberg, you're only getting on the team over my dead body. Faster!" Coach yelled irritably as the entire group reached the end of this side of the field.

Having them do a marathon five laps around the field proved to be quite a good idea, as several bodies started dropping halfway round the first lap.

"Care to make it interesting?" Malia asked, wincing as someone collapsed in front of Aiden and he didn't notice, trampling over the unfortunate kid, but to his credit, Aiden did shout an apology as he moved on, his hapless victim groaning.

"You're on, I vote...sixteen down by the end of this little bit." Lydia said, smiling as another fell by the wayside, extending her hand, and Malia grinned.

"I'll take twenty. Hey, where's Kira?" she asked, shaking Lydia's hand in agreement.

"That's...a good question actually." Lydia admitted, looking around for their absent friend.

As predicted, to Malia's glee, twenty two people fell in the marathon (Lydia begrudgingly handing over ten dollars to the smug coyote, murmuring under her breath about the wild girl, which was made worse when Malia put her bare feet up on the seat in front to wind her up more). Admittedly, some of those left standing didn't look too good, including Stiles, who was panting weakly and was supporting himself on Scott, who was trying and failing not to look amused.

"Alright, goal shooting, let's go! McCall, you first." Coach yelled, watching as some good Samaritan hauled the poor bloke Aiden had trampled off the field.

With a rotation of goalies and strikers, the next few were gradually whittled down, leading to a group of about twenty left standing, including the person in full get up, which meant that most of them would be on the team, ten players, five reserves, and this final test deciding it all.

"Stillinski, show these noobs how it's done!" Coach yelled, and an exhausted looking Stiles, highlighted hair sodden about his head, looked at him in disbelief but did as instructed.

Scott grabbed his shoulder, wrinkling his nose slightly as he did so, true most of them now stank but...

"Hey, Levi is still in it, you don't get this, well you heard Lydia, lacrosse players get all the girls, and since he likes Malia..." he said leadingly, and Stiles glared at him, and moved towards the goal, swearing and muttering foul oaths under his breath.

"Clever." Aiden commented in his ear.

With that, Stiles hoisted the ball into his stick and began to run up the field, ten large bruiser like other guys determined to stop him. Malia was in the stands watching with fascination and trepidation (well she loved him to bits but Stiles was a scrawny runt compared to some of these guys) as Stiles ran up the field.

"Oh this won't be pretty...ow, hey, claws!" Lydia protested as Malia, who was holding her hand, accidentally dug her claws in in panic as a guy about five times Stiles size was storming towards him.

But she needn't have worried. Stimulated by the thought of Levi making moves on his girl, despite his exhaustion, Stiles went full pelt up the field, shouldering the big guy in a spiralling pirouette out of his way, dodging the next two, twirling around another and then going full pelt towards the goal and sent the ball straight into the corner of the net.

"Yes!" Scott and Isaac yelled in approval and Lydia practically cried with relief, but that was due to a cheering Malia having let go of her hand.

"That's it Stillinski, go and sit down, I don't want sued if you snuff it." Coach ordered and a weakly gasping Stiles dragged himself away.

The trials continued, with Caleb falling as the one in full get up tackled him, Isaac (who silently admitted to himself that he was shipping Stalia) happened to take out Levi, two big bruisers double the size of the twins made the foolish mistake of challenging the twins and were rolling on the floor in pain seconds later, and even Scott took one guy down, admittedly by accident as he tripped as he fired his ball and took out the goalie, but Coach said it counted so who cared anyway.

Danny did his one with ease, easily scoring several goals, and saving all of the goals that were thrown at him other than a grinning Liam's and an increasingly agitated Scott's, who was seriously starting to resent this kid.

With Danny along with Stiles now virtually guaranteed a place it was now just a matter of weeding out the throng. To Coach's dismay, Greenberg did a passable tryout, and reluctantly told him he could sit on the bench. Ethan was taken down by an apologetic Mason, but Ethan waved him off, and when a disappointed Coach told him he hadn't made the cut, Ethan shrugged cheerfully and went to sit with Danny, who looked like he was trying to make sure Stiles stayed breathing.

For taking Ethan down, and some superb footwork, Mason then found himself with a position on the team, and in their tandem run, Garrett had made up for all the shortfalls Mason had and vice versa, and after some nifty goal scoring and saving, he too was put on the team.

Scott was rather interested to watch Aiden's final tryout. Ethan had been alright, but nothing special, but it seemed that in his effort to earn Scott's respect and approval, he had also decided to try for the team, and had really trained hard (also having bulked up a little recently too so he was a little more muscular than Ethan) and now seemed determined to prove himself, to Scott mostly he reckoned, and get on the team.

Scott needn't have worried. Aiden was fantastic, he was quicker than Ethan, dodged more, and shouldered his way up the field, even propelling himself off one person he'd knocked down into the air and sending the ball into the net in midair.

"Yes, yes whichever twin you are, that's what I like to see, great work! You're on the team...do you even have a surname?" Coach asked in confusion, and upon hearing this the entire pack looked at each other curiously, having never heard the twins surname before.

"I didn't even think they had one." Isaac muttered in Scott's ear, which Scott had to admit, had crossed his mind too.

"Smith." Aiden said hesitantly, while Ethan said "Johnson."

Coach stared between the two of them.

"We change with our middle names when we get bored." Ethan lied easily, and Coach seemed to accept this as a response and a worried Aiden sat down beside Ethan and sighed in relief, as Ethan, Danny and Stiles congratulated him, as did Mason and Garrett, after Mason had received a pointed glance from Garrett.

"Lahey! And for once, yes you can take out your own team!" Coach called, and Isaac grinned sheepishly, remembering their last lacrosse game when he had had to take out his own team so Scott could help stop Jackson.

Scott suppressed a surge of triumph as Isaac tore up the field, easily took down some attackers and dodged the others, and cockily stuck the ball in the net before their current goalie could even consider blocking it.

"Good man, no problems doing lacrosse and swimming?" Coach asked, and Isaac shook his head and Coach proudly told him he was on the team.

"Where is Kira?" Lydia asked, her friend's absence seriously starting to annoy her, as she wasn't answering her phone either.

"You, new kid!" Coach ordered and the one in full get up ran up the field, beginning their tryout.

"Whoa, that kid is good." Mason commented as they watched the kid dodge, duck, weave, leap and even one somersault, taking down virtually all of the attackers as they blazed their way to the goal, where the goalie seemed to be quivering in fear.

"Who is that kid?" Aiden demanded in shock, and Isaac smirked.

"Isn't it obvious? It's Kira." He told them, and the others all looked at him in shock as the last player stuck the ball into the net, and did so with such ferocity that the goalie dropped their stick and abandoned their post.

"Kira..." Scott muttered in realisation as Coach whooped and applauded.

"Great job kid, what's your name?" he asked, and there was a slight gasp from the assembled spectators as she took off her helmet, indeed revealing Kira's face.

"Kira, I'm new remember?" she asked hopefully as Coach seemed to have an aneurysm when presented with a girl trying out for his team.

"A girl? On the team? Um, well, I...well give me a minute, I've got a captain to decide on, go on, scat, sit beside your punk friends." He told her, and looking faintly dispirited, Kira sank down beside the others as Lydia and Malia climbed down the stands towards her.

"Why didn't you tell us you were trying out for the team?" Lydia demanded as they arrived, and Kira shrugged.

"I don't know, I just...well I fancied doing it, it was stupid, I shouldn't have done it." She moaned, and Stiles shook his head.

"Kira, you nailed it, yours was the best tryout by far, even better than Aiden's, don't talk crap, you have to be on the team!" he insisted, but she still looked down and embarrassed, leaving the others kind of clueless beside her.

"Dunbar, McCall, listen close. You two had the best tryouts of the lot, so, captaincy on the line. Show me what you got kids." Coach encouraged, and Liam grinned at Scott.

"Want to hand it over now?" he asked cockily, and Scott shot him a venomous look.

"In your dreams kiddo." He growled, and Liam just grinned wider.

The entire field went silent as the two of them did their tryouts, it was like no one moved a muscle as they watched, transfixed.

Scott took down all his attackers, surged into the air, rolled to the ground and came up on his knee to send the ball zooming into the net to loud cheers of approval from the spectators, and even a respectful nod from Liam. Scott grinned and nodded back and watched intently, heart hammering in his chest as he waited to see if he would be team captain.

Liam was good, there was no denying that, he even threw his ball into the air, dodged a guy and caught the ball again before moving on at one point, and he was about to score, Scott bit his lip, heart hammering, strange, he wanted to be captain, but he also wanted Liam to make the shot, and Liam shot the ball, the goalie took a step back in shock, tumbled and extended his stick outwards to try and steady himself...and to a great groan the ball just caught in his stick as he fell.

Liam looked slightly dispirited but the others, and Coach, were still cheering his name, but then they started chanting Scott's name and Isaac kissed him slightly as Coach confirmed he was team captain.

"Great McCall! Get over here!" Coach yelled as a lacklustre Kira joined the group, feeling very stupid, why on earth had she tried out?

"Bad luck dude, you were awesome otherwise." Garrett told Liam who shrugged.

"Thanks, I just...I wanted to do it." He said softly, and even though he was over the side of the field with Coach, Scott could hear the disappointment and the passion in Liam's voice, he hadn't wanted to do it to be captain, he'd just wanted to do it to prove he could.

"Well, I suppose you'll want Stillinski and your boyfriend in, Danny can stay as long as all your relations stay PG," Coach said, making Scott grin, "the twin, whatever one he is, he's too good to lose, I suppose...Greenberg," he said as if the very thought as painful, "the new kids, and Adam I suppose."

"No." Scott said simply, and Coach looked at him in surprise.

"Look McCall, you might be captain but..."

"Coach, Kira had the best tryout of any of us, and that includes Liam! She deserves to be on the team!" he insisted, and Coach shook his head.

"We can't McCall! A girl on the team, it's never been done before, she'd need her own changing room, her own room, well, girl stuff!" he protested, and Scott shook his head in amused disbelief.

"For a start she could probably use the same changing room as us considering a good portion of the team doesn't like her that way anyway, but that's not my point. Imagine it, first game of the season. We walk out, some other team sees us all, and they see Kira. What do they do?" Scott asked, and Coach spluttered.

"Laugh themselves silly because we have a girl on the team!"

"Exactly! And then, when Kira slaughters them, how bad do they feel?" Scott asked with a sly grin, and Coach chuckled.

"I like the way you think McCall, got that killer instinct. Deal. Oh, and Liam's on the team too." He said, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, as my vice captain." He told him, and after a nod from Coach, joined the others.

"Congratulations." Isaac said proudly as Scott joined them, and Lydia nodded.

"Yeah, your own little power couple, captain of the lacrosse team dating the captain of the swim team, you pair are living the dream." She said with a smile, and Scott grinned.

"Thanks. Hey Liam?" he asked, looking at the still despondent younger kid, and Liam gave him a smile and extended his hand.

"Good job, you deserved it." He said, and Scott grinned and shook his hand.

"You did good too, and that was kind of a fluke that that shot got saved. Fancy being my vice captain?" he asked hopefully, and Liam's face broke into a grin.

"Really? Sure!" he said brightly and to Scott's surprise, he hugged him.

"You're welcome." Scott said laughing as Mason and Garrett patted their friend on the back.

"Yeah, just...tone it down a bit, you make us look bad." Danny pleaded and Liam nodded, grinning.

"Deal."

"Mason, you and Garrett are on too," he told them, and then recited the entire team, resulting in many back pats and handshakes, and Scott turned to a despondent Kira.

"Hey, yours was the best of the lot." He told her and she shook her head.

"It was stupid, I never should have done it, I just thought I would be good at it, I mean a girl on the lacrosse team, I must have been high or something..." she babbled, but Scott put his finger over her mouth, shutting her up.

"You are good at it, so good, you're on the team." He told her, and she hesitated.

"Seriously?" she asked weakly, and he had no sooner nodded than she launched herself at him and hugged him.

"Oh thank you!" she cried, and Scott grinned.

"Great, that's sorted then. And, I made team captain!" Scott yelled, sticking his hands in the air in victory and the others laughed.

"Yeah you did. Can we go home now? This way you can get all your mom's fawning." Isaac teased and Scott slapped at him.

"Shut up. Hey, doesn't that new nightclub open tonight?" he asked, and as expected, Lydia nodded.

"Yeah, Lunar, why?" she asked, and Ethan looked at her as if she were crazy.

"So we can celebrate? Duh." He said and she shot him a dirty look, though she had to admit she had asked for that.

"A proper nightclub?" Kira asked, sounding worried that her parents would never let her out, but Isaac shook his head.

"No, the new place, over the road from the cafe, I mean it has booze sure but it's mostly aimed at our sort of demographic, give us a place to go that isn't running through the woods." He explained, and Mason looked at them curiously.

"You do that?" he asked, and Scott grinned, passing it off easily.

"Only when we're very bored." He replied silkily, making the others grin as they led the younger kids off and a grinning Aiden turned to Lydia, the two of them holding back.

"That was actually really good fun. Did-did you watch?" he asked hopefully, and she nodded slightly, avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah, you were really good. I'll see you tonight." She said and she strolled off before he could say another word, and all of a sudden, as his eyes flashed blue in frustration, he couldn't help but feel the balloon of victory he had in his chest had a small puncture.

**Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up, in theory the next one, the last part of the episode, is smaller, so hopefully itll be up a bit quicker**

**Once again not a lot going on, but our first deaths have occurred, so what next after this I wonder, especially with the Ghost Pack showing up next chapter? As of next episode we start seeing our enemies getting a lot nastier, and we have another foe to encounter next chapter as well**

**And silly Lydia, what are you doing girl? I mean really?**

**I hope the tryouts were good, having no knowledge about sport of any kind (i only watch wimbledon really) im writing totally in the dark so I hope they suited everyone, except coach as he still has to put up with greenberg**

**Speaking of lacrosse, theres an awful rumour that Danny isnt coming back for season four going around, claiming that Jeff Davis couldnt think of what else to do with him (which to me smacks of lazy storytelling (as some of you may know from other rants, the bane of the Star Wars universe)) and hence wont be appearing. **

**For all my characters sake, that better not be true (thoguh I fear it is) because if so, a certain red head might just scream in frustration... (my hair is brown fyi)**

**Regardless, as always, thank you to all those who favourite, follow and review, I would love to celebrate my day off and Teen Wlf day (Liam is cute) with lots of reviews so please let me know what you think and how I'm doing, and until next time, enjoy reading!**


	6. Episode 1: Territory Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"Mom?" Scott called as he and Isaac entered the house, Isaac grinning at the look of cheerful delight on his face as he basked in his victory.

"Hello boys, through here." Allegra called and they entered the living room to see both Melissa and Allegra sitting in chairs with their feet up, a glass of wine in hand, hardly a care in the world.

"My, you two look like you've had a productive day." Scott commented with a grin as he sank into the other sofa with Isaac beside him, Isaac looking at the wine hopefully, but a slight smile from Melissa made it perfectly clear that he wasn't even going to get a sniff of it.

"We have actually, not that you need to worry your pretty little head about it. How was school?" Allegra asked, and Melissa smiled.

"Mom, first day back after winter break, that isn't the question you ask, you ask how the tryouts went." She corrected her, looking at her two boys expectantly, and Scott nudged Isaac with his elbow, having a silent conversation, ending with the fact that Melissa had come to translate as Isaac vowing to kill Scott before he turned to face the two women.

"I made swim captain." He told them and both of them smiled, extending their congratulations to him.

"That's brilliant honey well done." Melissa said and Scott couldn't keep it in any longer.

"And I made lacrosse captain too!" he crowed and Melissa smiled proudly.

"Aww well done honey I'm proud of you. So, who's on your teams?" she asked excitedly and the two of them rattled off the ones they had on the team so far.

"Well done both of you. Since you did so well, here get yourselves a pizza." Allegra said with a slight smile, passing her grandson some money, and he looked at her suspiciously.

"Wait a minute why-? Have you two eaten, without us?" he asked in a whining voice and both women looked at him guiltily.

"We went out for lunch, not our fault you had to go back to school!"

"Charming!" Scott whined, but then Isaac took his hand, and nuzzled him a little.

"Hey, they gave us money. That means we can go out." He whispered and his boyfriends indignation suddenly turned to a cocky grin.

"Huh, good point that really, and then we can go to Lunar later." He said happily, turning towards Isaac lustfully, imagining a date, at a table, just the two of them, together...

"Lunar? That new nightclub opening opposite the cafe Isaac works at?" Melissa asked as she sipped her wine, looking at them both suspiciously.

"It's not a nightclub nightclub, well it is, but it's more dedicated to keeping people our age of the streets, you know, to try and cut down on the amount of us getting killed in town." Isaac explained, and though Melissa did look like she considered this a good idea, she still looked less than happy that they were going out on a school night.

"Oh let them go dear, I seem to remember you having a few wild nights when you were younger. Wouldn't be the first time I sent you to a school with a hangover." Allegra said dismissively and her daughter shot her a dirty look.

"They didn't need to know that!" she complained and Allegra just smiled and saluted her with her glass while the boys sniggered.

"Mom, we seriously won't drink, besides we're underage and only about two of us would pass for twenty one anyway, Isaac because he's so tall and Danny because he's so good at it. Besides, it keeps us off the streets, oh come on mom, we're team captains and we both have practice tomorrow, we're hardly going to go out and get wasted." Scott pleaded.

"Like you used to." Allegra mumbled softly, and Melissa glared at her mother, who smirked.

"Mouth is open mother, should be shut. Alright, but I swear, one whiff of booze and I, I'll...ha, no Stiles! That'll sort him." She assured her mother, and Allegra laughed and Scott grinned.

"Deal. So, you want me to pick you up?" Scott asked cheerfully, and Isaac looked at the clock musingly.

"I don't know, I was going to sit back and watch the Borgias tonight actually." He said, looking pensive, and Scott gaped a little, trying to figure out the right words, hang on, hadn't this been his idea to go out?

"But..." he whined, and Isaac grinned evilly.

"You're so easy! Race you to get ready. And bet I'm still done before you." Isaac challenged cockily, and Scott gave him a superior grin, looking at Isaac as if he was kidding.

"Oh you're on, whoever is the slowest buys everyone a round later." He challenged and Isaac kissed his cheek to seal the deal before bolting up the stairs, quite literally leaving Scott in the dust.

"Hey, cheat!" Scott yelled, running up the stairs after his boyfriend and Melissa slapped her mother's leg in annoyance.

"Why did you tell them about that?" she demanded irritably, and Allegra gave her a coy smile.

"Hmm, would you rather I told them what happened the night of senior prom?" she challenged, eyebrow raised and Melissa briefly considered her options and then wisely went quiet.

"I hid a packet of biscuits in the microwave since you can't work them." She said with dignity and Allegra grinned.

"Pleasure doing business with you darling." She said lightly, and Melissa grinned and gave a significant look at the ceiling where she could hear the boys moving about.

"If they cause us any problems since you made me let them go out tonight, you can deal with it." She told her, as she turned on to the soap opera she and her mother both watched, and Allegra smirked in a superior sort of way.

"Nothing else new there then is there." She taunted and laughed as her impotent daughter turned her attention to her glass of wine, clearly considering throwing it at her cackling mother.

XX

The night was already dark, a subdued moon beating down onto the town, mist swirling through the trees. A lone car passed the side of the verge where someone was standing, the darkness seeming to part before him as he swept through the trees, with one specific destination in mind.

The unsuspecting fools in this town had no idea of what was about to be released upon this town, they were all clueless. And by the time they got a clue, it would be far too late.

He was dressed all in black, a long black trench coat surrounding his black clad form, his pale face glinting in the moonlight as he swept through the trees, his unruly mop of curly black hair rigid with cold.

And as he passed into a clearing, he saw it up ahead, the very reason he was strolling around on this bitterly cold night, his breath rising in clouds in front of him as he progressed along his way, the very thing that would be the key to his future.

The large, depleted stump that was once the nemeton tree.

Agravaine smiled as he beheld the tree stump, sensing the latent power within the stump that was growing by the day. Several shoots had sprouted all across the stunted large stump, all of them crawling their way towards the sky.

Poor little Alpha pup, he had no idea of what he and his friends had done by giving power back to such a powerful thing. The nemeton, this nemeton in particular, was a lightning rod for supernatural energy, and Agravaine could feel the power surging all around it, in it, beneath it. He had long heard many rumours of just what was contained by the power of this nemeton, the recent Nogitsune trouble being one of the least concerning things that were linked to this tree. There was great power here, and he could feel it, something, somethings, stirring far beneath the surface, raging primordial fire, sheer undiluted power, something...ancient.

Poor little Alpha pup indeed.

Agravaine smiled. That was just one of the many reasons that he was in town, after all, the power of the nemeton was going to increase by the day. Since the sacrifice had awoken the power that lingered within the nemeton, it was growing in strength, and as a result, it was powering the one who had powered it. Agravaine smiled darkly. Scott was growing stronger by the day, but the stronger he became, the worst things would become. Firstly, it would attract greater and more dangerous threats to Beacon Hills, and secondly, it would change the entire world, the true Alpha receiving a power boost from the nemeton.

He could not allow that.

He strolled casually towards the stump, looking at it musingly. This tree, it was linked with so many things, so many events, so much power, the past, the present, the future...

And it was the key to his victory.

He had no interest in what was to come, the brewing power struggle that was even now beginning to ripple across the globe. No, what concerned him was the little true Alpha pup in town...and how he could use him to his own advantage.

Because deep down, what really interested him, was himself, and way out of the mess he was in. He had suspected for months now, as the attacks became less and less frequent, as he felt a general sense of malaise permeating every single little thing he did, as he faded a little in power each day.

He was dying.

But, with access to the nemeton, to Scott McCall, and with his own unique abilities, well, who was to say the future couldn't be rewritten?

He grew his thick, gnarled claws from his fingers as he caressed a hand lovingly over the tree, smiling as he took in the various shoots that were springing up all over it. And he then plunged his burning claws into the very centre of the tree stump.

Agravaine felt a surge of power rush through him as he connected with the ancient, primordial power of the nemeton. Snarling in gratification as he felt the power echo and resonate within him, his eyes burning their sickly yellow as poisonous, noxious smoke billowed from his mouth, swirling around him in the darkness. He felt a burst of acidic heat rise from the tree, and he watched as tiny little black flames emit from each of his claws, spiralling into the stump, the little black flames burning into the tree and then disappearing without a trace.

Agravaine smiled, already smelling the fruit of his labour.

The corruption had begun.

With a satisfied smirk, he swept away from the tree stump, leaving twisting, jagged and strangling plants to start growing around the nemeton in his wake, as the wood started to discolour in the centre of the tree, as tiny little black poisonous fires spread throughout the entire nemeton.

XX

"Thanks for dinner." Isaac said as they held hands, heading to meet all of the others at Lunar, the new nightclub and Scott shrugged.

"Hey don't thank me, thank those greedy swines I'm related to who ate without us." He said, and Isaac turned and kissed him softly, making Scott stop short and just enjoy the kiss, his hand reaching up to stroke Isaac's cheek as he did it, and when he broke off from the kiss gently, Scott wanting to forget all about going to Lunar and just go home and do that some more, Scott gave him a happy smile.

"What was that for?" he asked, and Isaac smiled and shrugged.

"What, I need a reason to kiss my boyfriend now?" he asked and took Scott's hand again and Scott grinned.

"No. Say, what was that thing we were going to do but got kind of cockblocked?" he asked hopefully and Isaac sniggered and grinned mysteriously.

"You'll just need to wait to find out, but don't worry, I swiped what I needed for it today when we were at school." He said with a wink and Scott felt an anticipatory grin materialise on his face.

Over the last few months, he had learned that when Isaac got all mischievous and sneaky like this, it was normally turned out very well for him so he had learned to keep his mouth shut and just go with the flow as it usually suited him in the end anyway.

Besides, it had been a nice dinner. Admittedly it had only been pizza they had gone for, with a shared basket of potato wedges and onion rings, but despite that, the food was good and it didn't prevent them from making it a proper date. Besides, it was quite like their first date, which Scott remembered very fondly.

The two of them hadn't been doing much that day and with Melissa at work, they were on their own for dinner, which was all very well and good, but neither of them felt like cooking anything, and had just been going to order something in when it had suddenly hit Scott that he and Isaac had never been on a date, he having foolishly broken up with him after only a week. By this time they had only really been back together for a week again, and of course, that explained why Isaac was so off today, he was nervous that something might happen and make Scott want to break up with him again. He remembered frowning, knowing that while it would seem irrational to most other people, Isaac being afraid that Scott would dump him again so soon after getting back together was something he could understand.

Scott knew that while he had really hurt both of them when he had broken up with Isaac originally, all in a misguided attempt to protect Isaac, he had done a lot of damage to Isaac. It had killed him those first few weeks (in which he also temporarily lost a bit of his mind, his cds were all messed up, an entire bottle of gel had disappeared, all very strange) in which Isaac had basically avoided all contact with him, hardly talking to him, spending as much time away from him as possible and it hadn't been until Lydia had intervened that Isaac had become close to being normal again.

So, while Isaac was lying on his bed listening to music, Scott had entered his room, climbed onto the bed and positioned himself above him. He had then kissed him, Isaac moaning a little in surprise as he did it, and he told Isaac to get ready, because this time, he was going to do it all right and he was taking him out on a date. Isaac tried to protest, but Scott had held a finger to his lips, silencing him, kissed his forehead, and told him that he was taking him out on a date, and that for a change they were just going to be an ordinary couple, no supernatural stuff, no nothing, just them. Isaac's eyes had lit up, and with that Scott had retreated to get ready for his first date with his boyfriend.

Scott had been unreasonably nervous as he got ready for the date. It wasn't as if it was a conventional date, after all, Isaac lived right next door, and he was one of the joint second in commands of his pack. And well, it was Isaac, and they were together, they were already together, so why was he so nervous about going out on a date with him? It was silly after all, they were already together and this had been his idea. But he had paid special attention to how he had dressed, donning a black pair of jeans, a white and black lined plaid shirt, and he had decided to slick his hair to the side to try something different to mark the occasion. Fidgeting nervously with the keys in the pocket of his leather jacket, he had knocked on Isaac's door, slightly taken aback as he saw Isaac, dressed in dark blue jeans, a deep green long sleeved shirt with the top two buttons undone, and he'd styled his hair so it looked slightly messy but still kind of looked like a quiff. To Scott's relief he had been just as nervous, even shy and strangely, he had seemed hesitant to wrap his arms around Scott's waist as they headed to the restaurant and despite himself, Scott was beginning to get unpleasant butterflies in his stomach about how nervous they both were.

But when they reached the restaurant and sat down, everything had just clicked and very soon, they were carrying on as normal, taking great pleasure in the looks they were getting (though Scott had felt the need to glower at an old woman who was looking down her nose at them). They had talked and relaxed in a way they never had before, and it occurred to Scott that he actually really liked dating Isaac, just being on a date with him, not having any expectations, just two guys who were in love having fun together. And as Isaac had pointed out, the lack of death threat had made for a nice change of pace.

After a great meal and a great evening, they had returned home, and with Melissa away out, Scott pulled Isaac back to his room and as usual, Isaac curled up into him, Isaac insisting they watch House of Cards. Scott had been initially sceptical, well, for five minutes. Well he'd only been sceptical for a few minutes before putting it on (Isaac, grinning naughtily, had been stroking his crotch and Scott was having a hard time saying no to him when he was doing that, and besides, he looked so adorable anyway) and once it was in, it had taken till the music had started to play and he was just as hooked as Isaac was. And after they finished that disc, well, it might have been slutty to have sex on the first date, but they certainly had, and neither had regretted it, Isaac moaning passionately as he and Scott, their naked bodies glittering with sweat and writhing on the bed, went at it, Scott forcing his cock into Isaac forcefully, Isaac moaning in pleasure, his fingers bunching in Scott's hair.

Yeah it had been a pretty damn good first date all things considered, and waking up the next morning with Isaac with his arm holding his naked body to his, Isaac's forehead leaning on his shoulder, Isaac's stretched arm around his waist, holding hands, well that had been the best feeling, the best he'd had in a very long time.

Scott had kissed him awake and told him they passed the target, making Isaac look up at him, bleary eyed and confused, and Scott kissed him gently, telling him they'd made it past a week, and Isaac had grinned and asked suggestively if he was up for a repeat performance in celebration, which a delighted Scott had been more than willing to agree to.

And, if Scott had his way, certain acts of their first date would be repeated tonight as well.

He was beginning to understand why Stiles and Ethan kind of hated him and Isaac at times, since their other halves lived elsewhere. His actually lived with him and it was bloody awesome.

"Do I get to know what it is?" Scott asked hopefully, taking Isaac's hand and squeezing it playfully, and Isaac frowned thoughtfully.

"No. But you do get a couple of clues. It's one of the things I think I'm good that, no not that," Isaac said with an exasperated but amused smile as Scott wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "something else, and it's something that we both probably wanted to do to each other, but because some moron dumped me, we didn't no matter how much we wanted to!" he said brightly, and that got Scott thinking, trying to figure out what he was thinking of and Isaac only smiled as Scott tried to puzzle out the mystery.

"You know, this is why I dislike having a smarter boyfriend than me." He moaned petulantly, and Isaac grinned.

"Honey, everyone in the pack's smarter than you." He said pityingly, and Scott poked him, pretending to be hurt.

"Hmph. Come on, at least give me smarter than the twins! Or Derek!" he begged and Isaac laughed as they turned into the street containing the new nightclub, only to find it thronging with people, most of them school age (after all there wasn't much for kids to do in Beacon Hills unless they were targets for the supernatural) but there were a few older ones milling about.

"Oh I'm so glad I'm not working tonight!" Isaac moaned in relief as Scott wrapped an arm around his waist, and Scott grinned.

"Yeah I am too." He whispered into his ear, and Isaac nuzzled him a little, grinning.

"Yeah but you have a different ulterior motive than I do." He chided slightly, and Scott used his Alpha vision and found the blazing aura that was Kira a little further up, and he led Isaac through the crowd, being banged into, jostled and hit on twice by girls (until Isaac had glowered at them and they had quickly made themselves scarce) before they finally found the rest of the pack.

The first thing Scott and Isaac noticed was the three younger kids, Liam, Mason and Garrett all looking as if they weren't sure they were meant to be there, but Liam did look a little relieved to see Scott approaching.

"Where have you two been, they're about to open the doors?" Stiles asked, his hand in Malia's, who was looking at her feet, looking thoroughly miserable.

"We had a dinner date first. What's up Malia?" Scott asked, sensing the wild girl's preoccupation and she looked up at him with a miserable pout on her face.

"I hate wearing shoes!" she whined pathetically, and they both looked down to see that she did indeed, quite out of character, have a pair of shoes upon her feet, flats only, but still they were shoes.

"Aww sweetie, you look great!" Stiles encouraged her, and she pouted, and Scott had to admit, she did look nice, dressed in a red dress that reached to her knees.

"Of course she does, she's has a Lydia Martin class makeover. And sweetie, the shoes suit you." Lydia, dressed to the nines as always on such occasions, this time in a white dress with black flowers upon it and her hair curled into ringlets.

"But they're shoes!" Malia protested and Kira and the twins laughed, while Mason looked at her in confusion.

"What's so bad about shoes?" he asked, clad in a dark green shirt and jeans and Malia just shrugged helplessly.

"They're shoes, I don't like wearing them!" she complained, so rolling his eyes in affection, Stiles kissed her to give her something else to occupy herself.

"I don't have nice shoes." Kira moaned, looking at the black boots she was wearing with her black and red skirt over her tights.

Liam looked at her and grinned.

"You don't need them, you look good as it is. I mean, well," he stuttered as Kira looked up at him in slightly surprise and Mason and Garrett grinned as he went scarlet, "what I mean is, you don't seem like that sort of girl, you're much more exciting, you know, kick ass, I...forget it." He mumbled softly, looking away and trying to hide his beacon red face, and the rest of the pack watched as Kira got the gist of what he was saying and a pleased smile came onto her face.

Sensing danger, as Lydia looked all too happy with this development, Danny proved to be their salvation as he craned over the heads of the crowd.

"Hey, they're opening the doors." He informed them, and seeing that Liam was making no effort to move, Scott detached from Isaac, who smiled a little and followed the twins as they shoved their way through the crowd (well they had hulking former Alpha brutes, it wouldn't be right if they didn't use them) and Scott placed a hand on Liam's shoulder, and the younger boy, his hair now more in a quiff than it had been, turned towards Scott looking embarrassed.

"Hey don't worry buddy, we've all done that." He assured him, and Liam shook his head.

"I was just trying to be nice, and it came out all, well you heard!" he whined, and Scott shrugged.

"Hey relax about it, I've been Stiles best friend all our lives, and the amount of times I've seen him make a bigger fool of himself than that, you have a lot of catching up to do. Come on." He told him and led the younger boy inside, Liam looking slightly more cheerful.

"So, I really get to be vice captain?" Liam asked from behind him, and Scott turned to him in surprise.

"I said you were didn't I? Besides, it's better this way. You're really good, we can keep each other good. And it saves me having to choose between Isaac and Stiles, and hopefully saves them bickering and driving me crazy." He said optimistically, and Liam smiled.

"Thanks Scott. Hey, this place doesn't look half bad." He commented, and Scott had to agree.

Far from the garish outlooks of many clubs, it had a dark blue scheme, giving it a similar appearance to how Derek's apartment had looked when the twins had hijacked it for the blacklight party where the Oni had first shown up. One wall was a sort of deep purple, and studded into the wall were shining white lights, which also decorated the ceiling, combining with crescent shaped lights, giving it a sort of lunar like feel. There were many tables and chairs dotted around in a circle around the large main dance floor, and on the next tier up there were several booths of black leather couches with tables in front of them and on the wall opposite the entrance corridor was the large bar, with red lights shining up it and revealing the drinks stored behind it.

"Where are the others?" Liam asked, and Scott once again looked for Kira (her aura made her easy to find in a crowd) and he spotted them sitting at their ease in a booth close to the bar with a good overview of the rest of the club.

"Over here, come on."

Music was pumping from the bandstand on the wall adjacent to the one with the bar, on a slightly raised booth that stretched to above the dance floor and excited youngsters were already crowding onto the dance floor and dancing, kissing, or in one case, looking as if they were trying to have sex in the middle of the dance floor.

"Are they allowed to do that?" Scott asked in disbelief as he saw them, the girl wrapping her legs around the guy she was with.

"Whoa." Liam said weakly as her bra came flying off.

"Yeah, I think both of us are too young to watch that, come on." Scott said and Liam following behind him, they sat into the booth with the others, all of them already sitting and relaxing at ease.

"Hey comfy seats!" Danny said happily, and Ethan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah and they don't smell as bad as the ones in Jungle do, less of spew and sex, more of leather and polish, nice." He commented, and Mason nodded.

"Yeah I know, they stink. I hate Jungle anyway." He commented, relaxing back in the seat between Danny and Garrett, who grinned cockily.

"How come?" Ethan asked, as he quite liked the gay night club in town, which he had decided it was his mission to introduce Scott and Isaac to (though Danny reliably informed him Scott had been before and had proved quite popular, as had Stiles with a couple, not that Danny had told him that).

"Do you get hit on by drag queens too?" Stiles asked sympathetically, making Malia, who was sitting between him and a smirking Lydia, turn to him in shock.

"Wait, what?" she demanded, and Stiles gave her a nervous grin.

"See, this is why I sit on the outside when we go places in case you decide to claw me." He whispered, and she leaned forward and nibbled his ear a little, making him make a strange noise of pleasure.

"You don't always complain when I claw you." She whispered, and he was still able to hear her perfectly over the blaring music.

Ignoring what the two of them were doing, Mason answered the question while Garrett tried and failed not to look pleased with himself.

"Because every time I go, Garrett comes with me as my wingman, and the jackass walks away with more numbers than I get!" he said indignantly, and Garrett burst out laughing properly, and Kira, who was beside him on the next seat, looked at him in confusion.

"Are you gay too then?" she asked, and Mason gave her a small exasperated smile.

"Do you think I would be as bothered if he was gay? The dickhead's straight!" he complained, and the pack laughed.

"Sorry dude, you just don't have what I've got." Garrett said cockily, leaning easily back into the chair and Mason hit him in annoyance.

"Jerk." He complained with a small smile.

"How about we go and get everyone some drinks?" Stiles asked Malia, who had already taken off her shoes, making Lydia close her eyes in dismay, and the girl happily nodded.

Kira gave Lydia a small smile.

"Hey, you might get your wish though, if someone stands on her foot with heels on, she'll know all about it." She assured him and Scott groaned at the very thought, Malia would rip whoever did it to tiny little pieces.

Stiles and Malia descended the stairs, getting into the queue for the bar, and Stiles was about to ask Malia if she wanted a bottle or just a glass when a hand touched his shoulder.

"Stiles, hi!" a happy voice said and he turned around to see a tall girl with long brown hair, streaked with deep pink, smiling at him, clad in black jeans and trousers and a white vest.

"Caitlin, hi!" he greeted the girl in surprise.

The girlfriend of one of Jennifer's many victims, the last time had seen her the two of them had made out at the blacklight party before he had left in order to discover that it was actually him who had sent Barrow after Kira, but that was another matter entirely.

"It's great to see you, how've you been?" she asked, considering going for a hug but the look on Malia's face made her reconsider that as an option.

"Um great actually, you? Do you work here?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Yep I was hired right off the bat. Tell you what, get your drinks and I'll bring you a complimentary one how's that sound?" she asked brightly, and Stiles nodded.

"Yeah, sure that sounds good. Oh, sorry, forgot, um, this is Malia, my girlfriend, Malia this is Caitlin, she's, well she and I..." Stiles said awkwardly, and the hand that Malia had been slowly extending with a suspicious look on her face suddenly froze in midair.

Back at the booth they had found themselves, Liam and Garrett were talking about lacrosse, Danny and Ethan were making out, Aiden was talking to Lydia but it looked as though she didn't want to be talking to him, and Kira was talking to Scott, Mason and Isaac about sword fighting, which Mason seemed very interested in when she tailed off, looking over at the bar.

"Hey, isn't that the girl Stiles made out with at the blacklight party?" she asked, nodding towards Caitlin, and Scott nodded as he looked over.

"Yeah, that's her, still don't remember her damned name." He complained, and Isaac looked at Scott curiously.

"Um, you really think leaving him up there alone is a good idea?" he asked, and Scott shrugged.

"Why wouldn't it be? They only made out the once, it was just a hookup." He told him, waving it away and Lydia fixed him from a pitying look from across the table, moving her hand out of Aiden's reach as he tried to take it, making him scowl.

"Yes, a hookup, which is a concept Malia totally does not get." She said pointedly, and Scott exchanged a look with Kira and it suddenly clicked.

"Oh...god!" he moaned, leaping to his feet with Kira right behind him both of them hurrying towards them.

"Is she really that possessive?" Garrett asked, but Isaac shook his head.

"No, but she doesn't quite grasp the concept of hook-ups not meaning anything, so we better be safe than sorry. Aiden what is it?" Isaac asked, his eyes narrowed at the other wolf who gestured with his head towards the toilets, and as Ethan was clearly busy, Isaac got to his feet and followed the other wolf.

"Hey!" Kira said loudly, saving Stiles who had just been about to say that he and Caitlin had made out, and he looked like he could have kissed her.

"Geez, what's taking you two so long? Hi, I'm Scott." Scott said shaking Caitlin's hand while Malia glared daggers at both her and Stiles.

"Caitlin." She said, and Kira watched in amusement as his eyes widened in realisation, pleased that he finally knew the name.

"Um, drinks?" Stiles asked sheepishly, and he bade Caitlin goodbye, Malia following reluctantly in his wake as they headed to the bar.

Deciding he may as well make the most of this impromptu trip to the toilet, Isaac fixed Aiden with a glance as he watched the other wolf stare into the mirror, looking lost and confused, and very angry.

"What the hell is her problem? It's like she doesn't want to be around me anymore, like she doesn't even want to know me anymore! What the hell did I do?" he demanded, his claws growing slightly and Isaac leaned against the sink unit.

"Aiden, calm down buddy." He said softly, and Aiden glared at him, his eyes glowing blue, but Isaac let out a little warning growl, eyes flashing gold and Aiden bowed his head a little and retracted his claws.

He did enjoy being prime beta, he couldn't do as much as Scott could in terms of the pack, but he did enjoy occasionally pulling rank on the twins.

Not that he abused that power, not at all.

Well...if he did he couldn't be blamed, after all, he was only human.

"I know. Did you fight or anything?" Isaac asked, but Aiden shook his head, looking frustrated.

"No, if we had I wouldn't be so bothered but now it's just like she doesn't even want to be with me anymore, but she's more than content to use me for sex when it suits her? How is that fair? She didn't even care when I was in the hospital!" Aiden snarled, but Isaac was too fast for him, grabbing his fist before he slammed it into the mirror, after all the place was new.

"Calm down." Isaac intoned and Aiden shot him a venomous look.

"How did you cope when you and Scott weren't dating?" he shot at him, as if knowing that would somehow fix his problem.

And in that, Isaac saw just how much Aiden was really hurting with all this. He had fallen in love with Lydia, just as Ethan had with Danny. The only problem was that upon his return from the grave, it was like Lydia suddenly didn't want to be with him anymore, and Aiden, who was obviously not used to caring for anybody as deeply as that other than his brother, didn't have the remotest idea of how to deal with this sudden reversal in fortunes.

And to make matters worse, none of them had the remotest idea of why Lydia was doing what she was doing to him. At first her hesitancy had been put down to what had happened with Allison, but as Aiden had said, she was more than content to talk to him when she wanted to have sex, it was just that everything else, for the rest of the time, it was like she didn't want to know or talk to him at all. She'd been avoiding him more and more the past three months and now it was getting to the stage where everyone could see what was coming, but the fact that Lydia was still using him for sex hadn't been lost on any of them, and Aiden for some reason seemed to be taking that as proof that she still cared about him the way he cared about her.

Whatever happened, it wasn't going to be pretty.

"This is different than we were though. Aiden...I know you don't want to hear this but maybe she..." Isaac said gently, but the twin wolf shook his head stubbornly.

"No, I know what you're thinking but...she does care about me. Well at least she used to, and I...I want to find out what it was I did to make her act like this. I want to fix it. Fix us." He said, and he looked so earnest that Isaac couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

After all, the entire pack, including Ethan, seemed to be sensing where this was going. Lydia was returning to form and spending less and less time with Aiden who was meant to be her boyfriend, and Aiden was just letting her do it. The worst part of it was, they could all see how much she meant to him, but she apparently didn't, and it sucked.

"Aiden, just...be careful ok?" Isaac asked softly as he led them out of the toilet, and Aiden stopped suddenly, making Isaac bump into him.

"Sorry. But...do you think I'm being dumb?" Aiden asked softly, and Isaac hesitated, because this was the most vulnerable he had ever seen the other wolf, and he certainly didn't want to do anything that could turn out very badly for all of them.

No, he wasn't being dumb. He was a guy who was in love with someone, and when that person didn't return your affections, it tended to make you do stupid things. He hadn't exactly been sensible when Scott had dumped him, and he could hardly call Aiden on what he was doing now. And it was all very well for the rest of the pack to see and comment, but this was different, and he didn't want to mess it up.

"Aiden, you love her. But, I'm just worried that you're going to get yourself hurt. The way she's been treating you recently, as far as we can see you haven't done anything to deserve it. So just, be careful about it ok?" he asked, and Aiden, his face clouded, nodded and led the way back to their booth, where Stiles was currently trying to make Malia simmer down.

"She's an ex girlfriend isn't she?" she demanded, the rest of the pack, the three youngsters as well, watching the exchange in rapt attention, and Aiden and Isaac came to a stop, Aiden grinning a little.

"No! We only ever made out." He assured her and she looked at him untrustingly, and Stiles kissed her cheek.

"Malia, look I know you're new to all this but, she doesn't mean anything like that to me. She's a girl I kissed once, that's all. She's a friend sure, but nothing serious. Look, not every person you kiss becomes your girlfriend, good thing too, otherwise Scott would have been my boyfriend a long time ago. Oh god I just said that out loud didn't I?" he asked, going white and Scott shot him a betrayed, shocked look and Isaac turned to look at him expectantly, a slight grin on his face.

"Excuse me, what?" he asked, delighted as both Scott and Stiles went scarlet.

"Thanks Stiles, remind me to castrate you later. It's nothing serious! We were really young!" Scott insisted and Mason grinned.

"Huh, you know if you two have some sort of secret relationship..." he began and Stiles shook his head.

"No, nothing like that! Look, we were really little, and...and we were playing Batman one day, and well it was only ever really the two of us! So, along with being Batman and Robin, not a word Danny," Stiles demanded pointing at a delighted Danny who was shaking hard with suppressed mirthful laughter and Ethan had buried his head in his boyfriend's shoulder to hide the fact that he was laughing too, "we also had to double as villains, and...well Scott was Poison Ivy." He admitted feebly, at least relieved Malia no longer looked murderous but instead looked profoundly evil and he knew he was never going to hear the end of this.

"I don't get it." Lydia said in confusion, and Aiden grinned malevolently, favouring both his Alpha, who had hidden his face in his hands, and Stiles, who was focusing as much as he could on Malia, with an evil grin.

"Well you wouldn't, despite having a boyfriend," he said, putting emphasis on that word, "who works in a comic shop. See, Poison Ivy is a seductress, and one of her most potent weapons..." he began, and an equally evil grinning Isaac finished his sentence for him.

"Is a toxic kiss. Aww you two are so cute! Does your mom and grandma know about this fight for Gotham's soul?" he asked excitedly, and Scott turned, brown eyes wide and pleading.

That would be a no then.

"If you tell her, I, I, I'll..." Scott spluttered his cheeks burning as the entire pack laughed around him, vowing to murder Stiles when he got the chance.

"Aww sweetie I wouldn't do that, not when I have the ability to blackmail you with this little tidbit." Isaac purred, sitting down beside Scott and stroking his thigh, and Scott sighed, giving a weak glare to his smugly smirking boyfriend.

"You're evil." He complained, and Isaac nodded.

"Um yeah!" he agreed as the rest of the pack laughed, and Liam grinned.

"Hey, maybe we can use that in lacrosse practice, you do badly you get a kiss from Poison Ivy here." He teased, and Scott glowered at the three sniggering freshmen.

"I don't like you boys no more. And just remember, a secret Batman villain or not, I can make your lives miserable on the field." He vowed as the pack's attention turned back to Stiles and Malia.

"So, you don't like her like that?" Malia asked, and Stiles shook his head.

"No sweetie, you're the one I like remember. Besides, I didn't even really know you when I kissed her, you'd only just been turned back from a coyote with a fur coat and bushy tail. Admittedly you were a cute coyote," he granted with a slight grin.

"Obviously she wasn't trying to eat you." Kira said tartly, but he moved on.

"But you were still mostly a coyote. I don't like her that way ok? I love you." He assured her and she finally simmered down with a small smile.

"So what, she thought she was a coyote when she was wild in the forest?" Mason muttered to Danny, who exchanged a brief, alarmed look with Ethan before nodding.

"Yeah, you know, Jungle Book kind of thing but coyotes instead of wolves." He explained, and strangely, this seemed to satisfy the freshmen, which he counted as a win.

"Lydia, come on, you're the queen bee around here, let's dance." Aiden ordered, and Lydia looked as though she was considering refusing but saw the pleading look on his face and nodded reluctantly.

"Come on, we can dance off dinner." Isaac said, looking slightly shy (Scott knew he wasn't comfortable dancing in public but he knew Scott liked it) so he allowed him to pull him to his feet and onto the dance floor.

Danny, Ethan and Mason leaned back in the seats and began talking, and Stiles and Malia nestled in together, holding hands and Kira was checking something on her phone. Garrett shot Liam an exasperated look, twitching his head towards Kira but the slightly younger boy shook his head adamantly, looking away from him. Garrett rolled his eyes, looking at him in exasperation. It was clear that his best friend liked what he saw in Kira, and she, even better, remained cheerfully oblivious. And considering what Liam's life had been like recently, well, he could do with a girl to cheer him up. But Liam had always been nervous and shy around girls, especially girls he liked. Garrett was the one who had good luck with girls (except one, Violet, who he'd asked out on a date only to be told by her apologetically that even though he was very hot (he remember grinning proudly at that) she just wasn't interested, and his face must have been a picture, so she leaned forward and had told him she was a lesbian, which was fair enough, couldn't blame her for not wanting to go out with him after that) but Liam, he was different.

Garrett looked musingly at Liam, who was looking at Scott hesitantly, watching him as he danced with Isaac, and he frowned, something looked a little off about the two of them.

"You looking at Scott and Isaac? There's nothing wrong, it's just them. It's because Isaac's taller, but he lets Scott lead, it looks a little off. See, and you moan at me for watching Dancing with the Stars." Ethan told Danny cheerfully, and Garrett grinned.

He was about to sit beside Liam so he could tell him to ask Kira to dance, after all, she was just sitting there tapping her foot to the music, and Liam was sitting there looking nervous when Caitlin appeared with the drinks.

"Hey guys, one round on the house since you know me, and one you paid for." She said happily, placing the drinks down.

"Thanks Caitlin. So, how long you on till?" Stiles asked, and she wrinkled her nose in displeasure.

"As long as it takes to get rid of everyone sadly. So, I'll see you guys later?" she asked, and Malia wriggled a little in her seat, Stiles restraining her slightly with a sharp look and she harrumphed as Caitlin bid them goodbye.

"I don't like her." She complained bitterly, and Stiles grinned in amusement.

"There's a newsflash." He quirked but when she fixed him with a steely gaze he wisely went quiet.

"Garrett! Hey over here!" a girl called and the blond freshman looked up to see a beautiful redhead waving at him.

"Hey Bella, guys, this is Bella a...well I suppose she's a friend of mine." He said, grinning, and Mason leaned close to Danny.

"That means he banged her." He whispered and Danny snorted in amusement.

"Hi, the girls are asking if you three want to dance, no offence to any of you guys, but looking at McCall and Lahey down there, you all look pretty much entangled." She said awkwardly, and Kira smiled.

"Don't let us stop you." She said good naturedly to the others, but looked at Liam curiously when he looked a bit put out by her saying that.

About to ask what was wrong with the younger boy, Garrett nodded.

"Sure. See you guys in a bit." He said, and sighing wearily but smiling, Mason followed him towards the dance floor. Liam looked between the pack and Garrett and Mason, as though hesitant about whether to go with them or stay where he was, but Mason made the choice for him, dragging him away by his shoulder, shaking his head and scolding him slightly as he did it.

"What an odd kid." Kira commented, watching Liam in interest and Malia and Stiles grinned at each other knowingly as Scott and the others came back from the dance floor.

"See this is good music to dance to." Isaac commented sitting down beside Kira and thankfully grabbing one of his drinks, and Scott cocked his head as he looked at the filled dance floor.

"Yeah still say it's odd music for a club." He commented, but Lydia shrugged, sitting down in the seat Mason had vacated, forcing Aiden to sit down beside Malia, who's gaze flickered between them but she, like the others said nothing, though Scott and Ethan both noticed Aiden's eyes flash blue and his resultant scowl.

"It's something for everyone, and most of the music's been decent." She commented, sipping her virgin cocktail.

"And Isaac's right, it's good music to dance to, it worked for Harry and Hermione, what's wrong with us?" she pointed out, crossing her legs as Danny's phone vibrated.

"Yeah but still." Scott said and Isaac affected a pout.

"Does that mean you don't like doing slow dances with me?" he asked, a lilt in his voice and Scott stroked his thigh, grinning coy.

"I never said that, I just said the song seemed odd for the club. I like dancing with you." He assured him, leaving his hand dangerously close to somewhere bordering on sexual harassment, but before Isaac could correct the situation, Ethan turned to look at his boyfriend.

"Are you going to tell me then?" he demanded, and Danny, who's face had been the very picture of concern, jarred from his daydream back into reality.

"Huh?" he asked, and Ethan frowned in concern.

"It's you, you've been weird for ages, for months, and it gets worse every time you get a text. What's eating you?" he demanded, and Danny looked at him, as if he was about to deny there was anything wrong at all.

But, as he saw the faces of the entire pack looking at him in concern, only wanting to help, worried about whatever was causing him grief, he gave a heavy sigh and decided he ought to tell them. After all, he'd been keeping this far too quiet for far too long, and if it hadn't been for what had happened to Allison he probably would have told them all a long time ago, but now, he supposed, there was really no other recourse. And he thought he had been sly about it.

"Ok...look, don't get mad at me, but there's something I should have told you months ago. See, the thing is, Jackson's missing. He's been missing for months, he disappeared just before Allison died." He told them, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

It took a while to come. The twins exchanged looks, but Kira and Malia shrugged at each other, never having met Jackson and hence this news was not quite as earth moving to them. The others however were a different story.

Stiles sat up a little straighter, looking at Danny in disbelief. Isaac's face twitched a little but other than that he did nothing. Scott however looked at Danny as though he was seeing him for the first time, his mouth slightly open in shock, and Danny finally made himself turn to look at Lydia, who was shaking her head weakly.

"What do you mean missing?" Stiles demanded harshly, and Ethan stirred a little, but Danny put his hand on his knee, preventing him from getting all macho and turned to face Stiles, feeling the accusatory glares from the eldest members of the pack.

"No one's seen or heard from him in months, it's gotten to the stage that the police are...assuming he's dead. That's what his dad just told me, they're basically saying it's...that something's happened to him." Danny explained softly, his voice cracking a little and Ethan rubbed his hand down his back.

"Wait, what? They think Jackson's dead?" Isaac demanded weakly, and Stiles shot him a scathing look.

"Yeah that's generally what assuming he's dead means." He sniped, and Isaac snarled at him.

"I know that, but are they saying he is dead, or just assuming because they can't find him?" he bit out resentfully, and Scott glowered at both of them to stop their bickering, they had bigger problems at the moment.

"Danny? Is that what they're saying? Do they really think Jackson's dead?" he asked weakly.

It was...a strange feeling. Jackson, rich, snobbish, arrogant, entitled and kind of a general all round douchebag, well he was far from his favourite person. But, fighting him when he was the kanima, Scott...he'd come to learn more about Jackson, and had become a lot more sympathetic towards him. He wasn't exactly his friend, but unlike the rest of them, other than Danny and Lydia, he had actively been trying to save him out of genuine concern for Jackson. He hadn't wanted Jackson dead, though he knew many, Stiles and Isaac both included, wouldn't have cared either way. He did care for Jackson in his own way, and hearing he could be dead, well...there was a sort of dull ache in his heart which he had never thought he would feel anything like in regards to Jackson.

"Danny? Is that what they're saying?" Lydia demanded urgently, her face paler than usual, and Danny, his brown eyes starting to fill with tears, nodded.

"Yeah. They're assuming that since the place was ransacked and he vanished without a trace, without a phone, anything, three months ago, they're reckoning that he's...that he's dead." He told her and she closed her eyes in despair, pulling at her long red hair, Aiden looking at her with an odd expression on his face, a sort of mix between jealousy and the need to comfort her.

"He's been gone three months? Why on earth didn't you tell us?" Stiles demanded, but despite knowing he was on dangerous ground because Ethan was glaring at him with glowing blue eyes, he pressed on, "your best friend in the world has vanished off the face of the earth and you didn't think we'd want to know? What the hell?" he stormed, and Danny glowered back at him.

"No, I didn't tell you. At first...at first I thought he might just come here, that he was coming home, so his parents asked me to keep it quiet from you guys, but...it got longer, and no one heard from him. I know I should have told you all sooner..." he began, but then Scott spoke up, his warm brown eyes looking at Danny quizzically.

"So why didn't you?" he asked, but unlike Stiles angry voice, it was calm, soft, not judging, just wanting to know, and Danny faced the Alpha, shamefaced.

"Because...I didn't think there was anything we could do. I mean, I know you'd all want to help, even though it's Jackson and he made your lives miserable a lot...but he was in London, at least he was meant to be. I knew none of us could afford to go chasing off to London, and even then it would be a long shot. And...like I said, it was just after Allison died, you all had enough on your plates without me adding this to them. You weren't coping well and your powers were off, Aiden was still in the woods, you all had enough on your plate. I know I should have told you, but I didn't know what to do, you had enough to deal with as it was." He said weakly, and Scott nodded.

"You still should have told us." He told him, but despite the furious looks on the faces of Stiles and Lydia, he had clearly decided to let the matter drop.

"Ok, so he's been missing three months right? And just because the police are assuming he's dead doesn't mean he actually is. So, how do we go about finding him?" Ethan asked, rubbing Danny's back as he struggled to stop crying.

He did get it, after all, the last three months, what with one thing and another, had all been very hectic, and he was certainly right that none of them could afford a trip to London to try and rescue Jackson, wherever he was. He got it, but he had a feeling he was going to have to have words with Stiles who was still berating Danny for not telling them.

"Stiles." Scott said in a warning voice, and Stiles wisely went quiet while the others all pondered.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do?" Kira asked.

True she had never met Jackson but Lydia had told her plenty, and while she had told her the negative stuff, all Kira got from that was that he was very important to her. And besides, they were a pack, so even if it was just Danny who wanted to find him, they would all help anyway.

"Theoretically, we could be able to track him." Aiden reasoned, and Scott looked at him in surprise.

"How? He isn't part of my pack, how can we track him?" he asked, confused.

"Well it's simple. Jackson was the first one Derek bit right? But he became the kanima, not a wolf, so as a result, he wasn't Derek's prime Beta. That's how Isaac became Derek's second in command, because Jackson couldn't. That means that since Isaac was Derek's prime Beta..."

"When Isaac defected to you, after Jackson was cured of being the kanima, in theory he would have dragged Jackson down with him. He basically dragged Jackson with him into the pack, which means, you're his Alpha, which means you should be able to track him." Ethan finished and Isaac looked a little wary.

"Huh...do we really need to find him? I mean, if he finds out I made him your Beta he will literally kill me." He told Scott but the Alpha waved it off.

"Never mind that now, we can deal with it when we find him. So, if we do that, what else can we do?" he asked desperately, and Isaac pulled out his phone.

"We can call Chris, he's in France at the moment, I can ask him to swing by and have a check, see if he can find anything out." He volunteered, and Scott nodded.

"Ok...hey Danny, if he's alive, we will find him ok? I promise." Scott said softly, and he looked up at the Alpha slowly.

"Thank you. And I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but his parents were begging me to keep it quiet, I-" he rambled, but Scott shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, we know now. Alright, Stiles, see if your dad can get us any information that might help, Isaac you call Chris and ask him to help too. Danny, tell his parents you told us and we'll do anything we can to help." He said, and Aiden looked at Scott curiously.

"But if he's dead-" he began, but Scott shook his head stubbornly.

"I'm not believing that till we have actual proof. Heh, look at you." He reminded him and Aiden smiled a little and nodded, yeah no one would have thought he would still be alive either.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us." Lydia croaked and Danny looked at her desperately as she got to her feet, her head suddenly splitting.

"Lydia? Are you hearing something?" Malia asked nervously, and Lydia suppressed a grunt of pain beneath a grimace, her head was starting to clamour with the various voices in her head

No wonder Meredith had gone round the twist, how did anyone cope with this?

"Yes, it's because I know about Jackson now, my head's suddenly kicked into overdrive, I hear everything again, just like I did before..." she gasped, kneading her temples, trying to shut them all off but she couldn't, it wasn't working, her head was splitting, the voices were a din in her head, echoing around her skull, like nails down a chalkboard.

"Lydia, listen, calm down. Concentrate, it'll be ok." Stiles said, getting to his feet and trying to calm the banshee, but it was too late.

"Ugh, it's going to drive me crazy." She wailed, and Stiles was wondering what to do when Aiden interceded, standing between the two of them, his face determined.

"You're going home." He told her firmly, and she opened her mouth to protest, she wanted to help, these damned voices had to be good for something but as a particularly strong pulse blazed through her brain, she relented and gave a weak nod.

"Ok, fine." She whispered, and headed for the door leaving the others beginning operations to find one of their own.

The music was so loud, it was deafening her. Or was that the voices, the screams? She couldn't tell anymore, all she knew was she had to get out of here quickly. Making her way through the throng of students in the club, totally ignoring a concerned sounding Mason as he asked her what was wrong, she staggered towards the door, her head thumping, her vision blurring with the pain, and she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming, she needed to scream, but she didn't want to. Screaming was bad, it meant that someone was dead or was about to die and no, she couldn't do that anymore. This was Jackson, the first person she had ever loved, she had just lost her best friend, she had nearly lost the guy she loved, she was damned if she was going to scream for her first love too.

She finally made it out into the street, careening down the alley, bouncing off the walls several times and finally coming to a stop down a secluded alley, panting and wheezing, her brain feeling as if it was on fire.

And then suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her, holding her to them and she shook before pushing away from the one who had hugged her.

"You ok?" Aiden asked huskily, tilting her chin up to face him, and in a moment of clarity, she decided.

It had to be now.

"Yes actually. Aiden...I'm sorry. But we can't be together anymore." She told him, and strangely, as she finally admitted it to herself, the pain lessened. She didn't know if the pain was in her heart, or in her head, but either way she would take it.

Aiden looked at her in disbelief. Wait, she had just found out her ex boyfriend was missing, her banshee powers were spiralling out of control, and she was suddenly deciding they couldn't be together anymore?

"What are you talking about?" he asked, shocked and she looked at him sadly.

"Aiden, I'm sorry. It's been coming for a while, I've been trying to push you away. I don't want to be with you anymore. I can't keep pretending like this, it's not fair on either of us." She explained, and Aiden looked at her in shock.

"Wait, you literally are breaking up with me? Seriously?" he demanded urgently, and she nodded, the pain still throbbing in her temples, but strangely, now she had something else to focus on, it wasn't quite as strong.

She looked at him sadly, her face betraying nothing.

"Yes. I know how it seems but, trust me, this isn't because of what's going on. I just can't do this anymore. I don't want to be with you anymore, it's as simple as that." She told him, and his eyes flashed blue, but his lip trembled a little, which was a weakness he brutally suppressed.

"But why? Lydia, whatever it was I did, I swear I can change! I...I love you! Is that what you wanted to hear, I love you! Why are you doing this?" he demanded angrily, his temper rising.

After everything, after nearly dying for her, to prove himself to her, after everything he had done, fighting to save her, fighting for her friends, for her pack, she was seriously ending this? He knew there had been something wrong the last few months but he had assumed that was just the fallout from Allison dying, nothing more. Deep down, he had suspected where this was going but now, being faced with the actual reality of it, he didn't know what to do.

He loved her.

"I need to Aiden. I can't be with you anymore, I can't see you anymore. I'm sorry."

"But, why? Why are you doing this, you've been pulling away for months! Lydia!" he urged, his temper flaring, but Lydia took a deep breath as if to steady herself.

"Because it's over." She stated with a terrible finality, and with that simple little phrase, something very integral between them broke and she turned away from the werewolf she had just dumped.

And so, taking a breath to steady herself once again, she blinked tears from her eyes as she turned her back on Aiden, pity and sorrow filling her, and she started moving away without looking back, her head held high as she moved away.

Behind her Aiden was reeling. She had dumped him. She didn't want to be with him anymore. No explanation, no nothing. She had just decided that they were over, that she didn't want to see him any longer. And she turned away, strolling away from him as if what they had had meant nothing to her at all, as if he, the one who had nearly died for her, to prove himself to her, meant nothing to her at all. He was worthless to her.

He had gotten close to her as part of Deucalion's plan, she was never meant to feel anything for her, but he had fallen totally in love with her, and it was her actions that had saved him from the Darach. He had loved her, she had been the first girl he had ever truly loved, and now...now he saw what he meant to her.

What she had been meant to him all along.

Absolutely nothing at all.

Aiden roared at her furiously, claws extending, eyes flashing murderous blue and she hesitated a little, clearly fearing what was about to come...but he couldn't. However much he wanted to, however angry he now was, he literally couldn't do it. He wanted her to hurt, to feel the pain he was feeling, was his chest meant to feel as if a gaping hole had been ripped in it? Was this love?

Stupid lousy Alpha making him compassionate, rubbing off on him!

He wanted her to feel this pain, to not be walking off as if he didn't matter, but deep down, no matter how much he wanted to, how much he wanted to punish her for what she had just done to him, the pain she had just caused him, to storm at her, to rage at her, to curse her for using him, for leading him on...he knew he couldn't.

Because while she didn't love him, he did love her.

He snarled angrily, bitter, and was trying to decide what to do when he suddenly caught a scent of something new on the air, and he froze.

There was another creature in town.

Sniffing, he looked around, seeing nothing, but as he edged up the alleyway, the scent was getting stronger, and as a cloud shifted, bathing him and his retreating exgirlfriend in moonlight, he happened to look up onto the roof of the building that the alley curved around, and saw her.

She was standing on the rooftop, moonlight shining on her. She was wearing a tattered and frayed grey dress, parts of it ripped and trailing along the ground. A rough cloak was draped around her shoulders, drifting in the wind, frayed, with its share of holes. Her body was stooped, a sort of hump on her back forcing her head forward, her back curved slightly to accompany for her peculiar posture. Her legs, revealed by the wafting of her dress, were also long, but bent in the middle, making her look something like a hunchback.

She had long, needle like fingers, dexterous and brittle, topped with black fingernails that glinted in the moonlight. Her face was meant to be beautiful, and perhaps had been once, but was no longer. Sunken and gaunt, her face was skeletal, sagging in places while dangerously thin in others. Her mouth was long and wide, like a whale's maw, her lips a deep red, and as she smiled darkly, he saw that she had no teeth. Her thin features extended to her eyes, which had horizontal slit like black pupils, inside eyes that blazed a swirling lilac colour, as if made up of energy. Her hair was mostly white, catching in the wind, with only the hair closest to her face still a deep brown, giving her hair a marbled look.

But most curious of all was her neck.

There was no front to it, as if the skin had been ripped clean off to reveal her wind pipe, oesophagus and vocal chords, but there was no blood. Thick chords made up the entire neck, which still existed, it was just the front that didn't exist, but one in particular caught his eye. While the various chords and tubes were bad enough, there was one that drew his gaze. It was a smaller one, a thinner one, pulsing slowly. And it was glowing, shining with a low pulsing white light.

She gave him a condescending smile, and Aiden snarled, prepared to make his move, when those awful lilac eyes that made her look insane focused on Lydia, and it suddenly made sense to him. He didn't know how, but he knew.

She was here for Lydia.

The woman above them rolled her head back as if she was cackling with insane laughter, and she opened her mouth, white energy coming from the pulsing and glowing chords as she did it. She then reached down to her leg, and pulled hard on something hidden by her dress, and a second later, a lethal black whip was in her hand.

And with a final, wide mouthed, mocking smile, she sprang from the building towards Lydia, her whip raised for the kill.

**And so we reach the end of episode one!**

**Who is this mysterious creature gunning for Lydia? What exactly does Agravaine have planned? Where is Jackson? And why oh why did she break up with Aiden?**

**Sorry for the delay in getting this up, I've been working loads of overtime recently, apologies, but im on holiday next week, and better yet, we're starting a new episode, so hopefully itll be up sooner rather than later!**

**Anyway, as this is the end of the episode, I would be very happy to hear what you all think of my first episode so could you please leave lots of reviews? (also takes the edge off an eight hour shift tomorrow which would be nice too!)**

**Thank you to all who read, favourite, follow and review, really means a lot and I'd like to hear what you have to say so please click the button at the bottom!**

**Until next episode, enjoy and see you soon!**


	7. Episode 2: Silence Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"LYDIA!" Aiden yelled, shoving her out of the way as their mysterious attacker cracked her whip.

Aiden roared in pain as the whip bit into his skin, but he tackled a shrieking Lydia to the ground, throwing them both into the dirt as their attacker landed catlike, cracking her whip again and advancing upon them.

"What the hell?"! Lydia demanded, turning to face him but then caught sight of their attacker who gave them a sadistic toothless grin and advanced upon the two of them.

"Lydia, run!" Aiden snarled, roaring in challenge, his eyes glowing blue and Lydia looked up at her ex boyfriend in shock, trying to process just what was happening.

This woman, this hunchback with her neck ripped open had leapt down from the top of the building, that lethal looking whip with the tassel of lashes at the end about to take her head off if Aiden hadn't saved her.

And after she had just dumped him.

If she didn't know better, she'd say he'd planned it to make her feel bad.

The woman glowered silently, readying her whip, preparing to fend off the snarling werewolf who was crouched, ready to leap at her and attack.

"Lydia go!" Aiden demanded as the woman made her move, her white hair flapping in the wind.

Cracking the whip, she went right for Aiden's head, but the young leather clad wolf was much too fast for her, elegantly weaving out of the way before propelling himself into the air, somersaulting through it and landing with his hand down on the ground before he leapt at the woman, his claws going right for her exposed neck. The woman looked as if she was laughing, but curiously, there was no noise coming from her mouth as she did so. Her blazing lilac eyes narrowed, her toothless mouth opened in silent laughter, she easily swung out of the way of Aiden's claws, kicking him in the chin and knocking him off course, her eyes on Lydia as she pulled herself to her feet. The woman then slapped him with the back of her hand, and to his great surprise, he felt the blow like a hammer strike, which sent him spiralling through the air, slamming noisily and painfully into a pile of bins. Groaning and snarling in pain, he pushed himself out of the bins, his glowing blue eyes alert for their attacker, but to his surprise she was nowhere to be found.

"She just vanished, she was there a second ago but I was making sure you were alright and then, Aiden look out!" Lydia shrieked as the woman dropped down onto Aiden's back, sending him sprawling to the ground with a grunt of annoyance.

Rolling over, claws out, ready to take out this bitch because she was seriously starting to annoy him, he then whimpered as her whip cut into his face, rending a deep cut that sent blood splattering all over the ground. Gasping in pain, the cut burning like a live wire, he was about to get up when her heeled boot suddenly crashed into his chest.

While usually this wouldn't have bothered him, her heel happened to stab him right in the middle of the chest, which of course was the same place where the Oni had stabbed him and nearly damn well killed him.

Aiden roared in pain, Lydia crying his name, and the marble haired woman swept down, her long fingers clutching around Aiden's neck making him choke as she squeezed tight, her swirling, slit like lilac eyes narrowed in cold pleasure as she opened her gaping maw.

Aiden choked, his legs kicking desperately, but the pain of her boot in his chest was still burning through him, his strength sapped by her decidedly underhanded move. Gasping in pain, tears of pain shimmering in his eyes, gasping for breath, he snarled as much as he could, his eyes starting to roll because of her tight grip, and stabbed his claws into her hands.

The woman reared back as if she was screaming in pain, and it finally clicked that this woman hadn't made a single sound since she'd attacked. She was totally silent. He could hear Lydia running towards him, shrieking at the woman who was attacking him, and as he choked, he saw the woman open her mouth wide just above his own.

Panic filled him, she was going to kiss him. He knew he should be concerned about other problems but she was about to kiss him for goodness sake, this toothless monster. But to his great surprise, he suddenly felt the back of his throat burn like wildfire, and his mouth felt as if he was at the dentist as there was a sensation of something being sucked out of him and with a joyous flourish, she let go of his neck, backflipped away from Lydia swinging a metal pipe at her, and stood at her full height, no longer hampered by her stoop or bent legs, a pale white glow now coming from her exposed neck.

"Thanks lover boy." She said in a girly, playful voice and a weak Aiden pushed himself back to his feet, glaring at her.

Time to call in the cavalry.

He opened his mouth to roar...and no sound came out. Lydia looked at him in disbelief as he tried to talk, tried to make any sound at all, but all he heard was the woman's mocking laughter.

She had taken his voice.

"Silly wolf. Now, how about you get out of the way while I take down your girlfriend here?" she purred, and to both of their surprise she now had two teeth in her mouth.

Aiden stepped in front of a panicking Lydia and the woman smiled coldly.

"Oh alright, I'll kill you, then I'll kill her!" she screamed, and her lilac eyes surging with power, she sprang into action and cracked her whip, going right for Aiden's head.

XX

"Ugh!" Ethan gasped in the toilet, and Danny, who had been splashing some water onto his face, turned in confusion, his panicking eyes finding his bent double boyfriend.

"Ethan, what is it?" he asked urgently, and Ethan gasped in pain, looking up at him weakly.

"Aiden, something just hit him in the chest, right where the scar is. He's in trouble." H breathed weakly, and Danny nodded, not questioning him but taking his hand and leading Ethan from the toilet, right to where Scott and Isaac were getting ready to go.

"Aiden's in trouble!" Danny informed them as they came to a stop, and Malia looked at them, surprised.

"How on earth do you know that? He only just left!"

"It's a twin thing, trust me, he's in danger!" Ethan insisted, running his hands through his hair in frustration but Scott held up a hand, quieting his Beta while the others all watched intently. Scott closed his eyes, and growled in pain as he felt the distress one of his Betas was in.

"He's right, Aiden's under attack, Lydia too, and whatever it is, it's terrifying Lydia. Come on." He ordered and with that the entire pack followed him to the door. Scott turned to face Stiles but he raised a finger threateningly.

"Don't even think about it Scott, we're all in this together, there's no way Danny or I are staying behind, you hear me?" he warned, Scott opening his mouth to protest but the look on his face told him it was pointless.

"Fine then, but if you die, you better not haunt me. Hey Liam!" Scott called to the younger student and he smiled happily at the approaching group, his eyes lingering on Kira for a second longer than necessary.

"What's up? Oh, are you guys leaving?" he asked, sounding kind of bummed about that, but Scott didn't have time to consider the younger boy's feelings.

"Yeah, I need you to do me a massive favour, keep everyone in here for a few minutes ok?" he asked, fixing him with a pleading look, and Liam looked confused, but nodded.

"Um, ok, sure but, how?" he asked weakly, and Isaac was so thrilled that he didn't ask why he relaxed a little.

"Use your imagination. Thanks squirt." Scott said fondly clapping the younger boy on the shoulder as he led the pack out of the club.

"Um you do realise some of us don't have any weapons at all?" Kira asked as they followed Scott and Ethan down an alleyway heading towards where Aiden was, and Isaac gave them a wicked grin.

"Au contraire." He told them smugly, and somehow pulled his ring daggers from somewhere about his person, making Scott fix him with an incredulous look.

"You brought those on our date? And how the hell did you hide them?" he demanded weakly, and Isaac grinned.

"Well the guy I was seeing tends to get a bit grabby," he said teasingly, and Scott shot him a perturbed look, "besides, it's usually me who gets ambushed and I'm sick of it, it happening to Aiden is a change of pace. And never you mind where I had them." He told his boyfriend as the pack ran down the next alley, Aiden and Lydia's scents getting stronger all the time.

"Yeah but last time you had one in your boxers, how you didn't hurt yourself is beyond me, it nearly hurt me when...never you mind how it nearly hurt me actually." He muttered to himself, seeing the entire pack was now very interested in what he was about to say and decided to focus on other matters.

Fortunately, they entered the alley where Aiden and Lydia were, to see a frightened Lydia pulling Aiden to the ground as a woman with marbled hair cracked a whip at the two of them, nearly taking off Aiden's head, missing him by inches as he fell backwards.

"Why the hell didn't he roar for help?" Danny demanded, as Aiden propped himself up, his face the very picture of relief as he beheld the pack.

And then, it was as if he started to talk, and it suddenly dawned on them why he hadn't roared for help, he couldn't, as he had no voice.

"Help, she took his voice!" Lydia cried, and the woman cracked her whip at her, making Lydia cry out in pain as the whip cut into her arm.

Scott growled menacingly, and the woman turned, and Scott was surprised to see a tall woman, dressed in a rough, tattered grey dress and cloak, with black heeled boots on. Her brown hair gave way into a mass of long white hair that hung down to her tatty dress covered shoulders. She had a wide, gaping mouth with only a few teeth, her lips a vivid red. Her fingers were long and brittle, black and glinting in the moonlight coming from above. Her eyes were a swirling lilac colour, and she had horizontal slit like pupils.

But it was her neck, her tubes and chords exposed, several of them glowing white, casting a small aura around her revealed innards.

"What the hell?" Malia demanded in shock but Scott ignored her and glowered at the woman.

"Ah, a pack. Wonderful." The woman gloated in amusement, her voice high and lilting as she readied her whip for the next round.

"You shouldn't have done that." Scott growled, his eyes flashing red as his claws grew, and with a savage roar, which was then backed up by the roars of Isaac and Ethan and the howls of Malia and Kira, the entire pack sprang into action against this one who had dared attack two of their own.

Scott went right for her exposed neck with his claws but she was far too fast for him, her own savage black nails stabbing through his shirt and ripping down his flesh. Scott roared in pain as Ethan tackled the woman but she simply used him as a springboard, thrusting herself into the air and she cracked her whip, her whip wrapping around his waist and with a flick of her wrist, she sent a howling Ethan flying through the air, her whip cracking as she did so, slamming him into the wall of the building beside them, drowning him in a deluge of loose bricks.

Aiden gave a silent scream, which Danny more than made up for, and he pounced at his attacker, swearing and making murderous vows silently but the woman simply landed, catlike, and arced a perfect leg into his neck, sending him to the floor with a crash.

"Scott, she's getting stronger, she's looking better too, she looked like an old crone when she first attacked!" Lydia yelled as Stiles and Danny rushed to her side, forcing her back away from the fight as the creatures surrounded this new creature.

The woman cracked her whip, catching Malia in the chin and knocking her off balance, a shortfall the woman quickly made up for, springing towards her and hammering her fist into her chest, sending her crashing into a host of bins. The twins roared (well Aiden tried to) and dashed at the woman but she leapt out of their way, landing behind them and turning, her whip tying around both their waists before she stuck her long nails into both their backs, dropping them to the floor. Kira then bounded towards her, but while she forced the woman to back off from the twins, she had landed right in her trap.

The woman grabbed Kira by the hair, dragging her down and she yelped in pain as the others headed to free her from her predicament. Sensing trouble, the woman cracked her whip to keep the others at bay before she pulled a screaming Kira off her feet by her hair, Kira crying and whimpering in pain and the woman gave a sadistic laugh as she slammed Kira down into the ground, burying her in the concrete. Opening her mouth a crying Kira suddenly clasped her throat as a stream of white energy surged from her mouth, the woman's mocking laughter becoming stronger as she sucked the white energy in, Kira grasping her throat silently.

The woman laughed and Scott looked at her in shock as the aura around her neck got stronger, and a little bit of skin started to grow across, as if to seal up the wound. More teeth developed too, and her hair began to become more brown than white.

"What the hell is she?" he demanded, and Isaac growled, that had just been harsh what she had done to Kira.

"Who cares?" he challenged and threw one of his knives through the air.

The woman, who hadn't expected such a move, cried out in pain as the blade buried itself hilt deep in her shoulder. Screaming furiously, it was like the entire street shook as she did so before she gestured at Isaac, and Scott roared in fury as his boyfriend was blasted off his feet, crashing him into the same wall Ethan had been crashed into. Malia leapt in front of him, her claws ripping into the woman's already tattered dress, before springing onto her chest and biting down on her neck. Ordinarily Scott would chastise her, but one, she was supernatural and two, she had just blasted Isaac away so he was actually cheering Malia on as he closed on their new foe. Malia grabbed the dagger in the woman's shoulder, the woman giving an impotent scream before she poked at Malia's eyes with her long fingers, making her kick off the woman and flip to the ground. The furious woman advanced only to be beset by a now thoroughly pissed off Alpha.

Scott roared in challenge, claws ripping for her face and her throat. The woman span out of the way, bending down and elbowing him in the stomach before slamming her fist down onto the back of his head as he bent over, wheezing for air. Crashing the Alpha to the ground she viciously stomped him into the ground and opened her mouth when the twins and Kira surrounded her, Aiden shouldering her away from his Alpha with a silent snarl. Aiden went right for her eyes but she was much too fast, snaring his wrists in her iron strong grip and he yelled in silent pain as she snapped both wrists in two. Ethan called out for his brother and Kira delivered a roundhouse kick to their attacker, but she simply span and span Aiden as a weapon, crashing him into Kira, sending her sprawling to the ground. She then smirked and slammed Aiden's head into a wall, where he dropped down, unmoving.

"AIDEN!" Ethan yelled furiously, cartwheeling his way towards her, his vicious claws ripping into her skin and dress.

The woman gave a coy laugh and punched him in the nose, knocking him back as he saw stars. Kira tried to trip the woman up but she simply stomped down on Kira's ankle, making her yell in silence. Scott and Isaac had recovered and joined the battle, Malia right behind them as Ethan continued his assault, and it looked as though she had finally had enough.

Trying to gouge out his eyes forced the wolf to fall back, and with that little reprieve, she took a step back and screamed. The entire pack covered their ears as the sound echoed in their ears, shattering the lights and plunging them into darkness as they reeled. And it was then they saw it, swirling ripples of white light coming from her mouth, which she then fired right into Ethan's chest.

Ethan screamed in pain as he felt numerous bones crack, the woman laughing sadistically. She then opened her mouth wide, light pouring from a whimpering Ethan's mouth as he dropped to the floor, and she cracked her whip into his face, spraying Malia with his blood as he went still, the woman's hair now more brown, her stoop and bent legs gone, with her mouth nearly half filled with teeth, and a smaller hole exposing her vocal cords and windpipes.

"No!" Danny cried, watching as he and Stiles directed Lydia to the end of the alley and back into the light.

Kira attempted to grab the woman's leg but the woman span and kicked her in the head with such force that Kira's head slammed back and she slumped back into the ground. Malia roared in fury, pouncing as did Isaac, twirling both daggers. The woman snarled in annoyance before turning to gesture at Malia, sending her tumbling into the bins, but the plan worked and the woman let out a furious scream as Isaac plunged his daggers into her lower back. Turning, her face livid, she screamed right in front of him, making Isaac scream in pain himself, falling back in pain, clutching his head as he tried to block out the scream, blood trickling from his nose and eyes as her scream continued. Scott roared furiously and rushed to his boyfriend's aid, determined to rip her in two but the woman was too fast, opening her mouth and she rendered Isaac speechless as well, further restoring herself. She gave Scott a mocking, cold smile before she hammered Isaac in the chest, sending his body flying through the darkness into the bins, his head striking one and he slid down the side of one, unmoving.

"Isaac!" Scott roared and Malia also growled in challenge to this woman, both of them charging at her together, determined to end her.

Chuckling, the woman simply gestured, sending both of them high into the air and allowing them to crash back down to the ground with a bone cracking impact, burying them in rubble. Malia and Scott groaned as they tried to pursue the woman but she was advancing with deadly intent on Stiles, Lydia and Danny, her whip raised to end her opposition, a murderous look in her eyes.

"Lydia, get out of here!" Stiles ordered her but before she could say anything, the woman cracked her whip.

Stiles gasped in pain as the whip coiled around him, and she span him through the air before releasing him, allowing his much frailer human body to slam into the wall with deadly force, Stiles dropping to the ground and remaining unmoving. Lydia and Danny turned to run but the woman was too fast, leapfrogging off the walls and landing menacingly in front of them. She then punched Danny in the face, sending him hurtling up the pitch black alley with a cry and when he hit the ground, he moved no more. Lydia backed away and the woman reached for her throat only to screech as Scott sunk his claws into her hand.

Throwing her bodily down the alleyway, she ploughed into the ground only for Malia to pounce on her, her teeth going right for her neck. The woman chuckled darkly, and allowed Malia to bite down on her wrist, Malia's eyes bulging in surprise and the woman headbutted the girl, dazing her. As Malia tried to get her bearings, she pulled on the coyote's hair, then chopped into her neck. Scott roared as the woman got to her feet and crashed Malia's head into the earth and gestured with both hands, sending the Alpha who was bounding towards her flying back the way he came as she opened her mouth and white energy streamed from Stiles, Danny and Malia, leaving a long slit in her neck, a pulsing white light now glowing like a sun around it.

She chuckled, the very sound grating on Scott's nerves as he leapt the expanse of the alley, landing catlike in front of her before plunging his claws into her legs. Screaming in pain, the woman tried to punch him in the head but he flipped back out of the way and swiped his claws at her ripping into her chest, her arms, and across her face. Snarling in satisfaction as he heard her screams, he finally got his claws into her healing neck and ripped it savagely, a chunk of flesh coming flying off, and the woman screeched in fury as white energy surged from her glowing chords into Ethan, Kira and Danny's unmoving bodies. Deciding to work that out later, Scott swiped upwards, trying to end this quickly but the woman flipped over, taking Scott with her and using her momentum to crash him down onto his back. Turning she attempted to stomp him out but his feet then crashed into her stomach, making her wheeze and he gambolled to his feet, twirling and turning, flipping and dodging, his claws ripping into her, splattering the entire area with her blood before piercing the back of her neck with claws and forcing her head down, about to slash his other hand down and finish this when she punched him in the knee, buckling it and dropping him to the ground, Scott whimpering in pain as he dropped.

The woman twirled around Scott, the Alpha growling in righteous fury, turning to bite her leg, but her foot crashed into his jaw, jerking his head around painfully. She then seethed in malicious pleasure as she wrapped her whip round his neck tightly, pulling back on it with savage pleasure. Scott gargled as the whip cut into his neck, clawing at the whip desperately but whatever it was made of it wasn't cutting. He choked, gurgling, struggling to free himself, his face going red and eyes rolling as she killed him, his tongue thick in his mouth, panting and gagging for air, her mocking laughter echoing in his ears, his pack defeated about him, his life about to end...

When a jet of crystal blue energy slammed the woman in the chest, making her scream in pain as she was blown halfway up the alley, and Scott breathed desperately, trying to get air flooding back into his body.

Scott, tears in his eyes as blood rushed back into his face, looked up to see where the blast had come from and his eyes widened in surprise.

A woman was standing there, her smooth young face looking down at their attacker with an expression of determination. She was clad in a flowing green skirt and tunic which was sleeveless, with small black leather belts tied around her left arm and running up its entire length. Her opposite arm had a golden snake bracelet complete with glowing red eyes snared around the wrist, and a shining blueish pebble hung from a necklace around her neck. She had long flowing black hair, streaked with crimson, and her eyes were a bright, shining vivid green, the pupils similar to a cat's. In her hand was a large wooden staff, with thorns and vines running up it, ending in a small, sharp blade at the top. And as the clouds shifted, the moon shone on her, and Scott's eyes widened as he saw the outline of wings be thrown into relief by the moonlight.

The only question remained, friend or foe?

"Leave them!" she commanded and their attacker snarled in annoyance, brandishing her whip as Scott struggled back to his feet.

"Scott?" Lydia asked nervously, clearly sharing the same thoughts about this newcomer as he was.

"Stay back." He ordered her and their attacker stood up to her full height and looked up at the other woman in challenge.

"Make me." She goaded and with a flourish the woman rocketed into the air, twirling like a cyclone, her staff a dangerous extension of her arm as she landed effortlessly on the ground, glared at their attacker and leapt towards her, her staff going right for her head.

The woman snarled in annoyance and cracked her whip, only for the staff to come up and act as a barrier, the whip wrapping around the wooden shaft. The newcomer flurried her staff, jerking the whip from her foe's hand and allowing it to pool onto the floor. With a slight smile, the newcomer moved to take down the woman, her staff a tapestry of movement around her, their attacker grunting and cursing as she tried to avoid the newcomer's attack as much as possible. She flipped away as the woman tried to puncture her with her blade, and the attacker picked her whip from the ground, cracking it right for her head.

The woman gestured with her staff and a shimmering shield of white energy appeared in place, making an echoing gonging sound as the whip lanced off the shield, their attacker looking less than thrilled by this new development. She spiralled into action, deftly avoiding another glancing blow by the whip and lunged with her staff, trying to stab her opponent but the other woman screamed, forcing the newcomer to stagger back as she coped with the assault upon her ears. Sensing victory the other woman whipped at her neck, but the woman countered by firing a blast of crystal blue energy right at her, and the attacker barely raised her hand in time to send out a pulse of shining white energy that sent the blast crashing into the wall, where it created a smouldering blue fire.

The attacker hissed in fury leaping towards the wall, apparently determined to get Lydia before she retreated but the newcomer was on the case, sprinting up the alleyway, firing blasts of energy at the woman from the end of her staff. She somersaulted in front of Lydia, shoving her to the ground with a single push and brought her whip up to counter the woman's slashing whip crack, her staff glowing with energy. The attacker screamed in fury and dropped to the ground, her whip ready and the other raised her staff, determined as the two conscious pack members watched, transfixed.

And with a final growl, the one with the staff surged forward, her staff swirling around her, countering every single crack of the whip that her foe made. The attacker was forced backwards, her whip useless at such a close range against such an opponent, beginning to pant with exhaustion as she was forced backwards, and now she was getting desperate, swinging her long nails in an attempt to stop her new attacker. The woman avoided her blow but swung her staff in an upwards arc, crashing her opponent in the chin and sending her crashing to the ground. Lunging, she stabbed down to end the fight by puncturing her foe's neck but the other woman flipped to her feet, got off a glancing blow with her whip that made the other stagger and she turned, her grey dress flapping as she made a run for it.

The newcomer raised her staff, white energy pulsing from it and the fleeing attacker gave out a scream as white energy surged from her mouth back into the pack, and to Scott's great surprise, she became stooped and ancient, stooped, toothless and ugly looking once again. Turning furiously, she opened her mouth but was once more silent (though what she said needed no translation), and with a great leap, she cleared the building and vanished into the night.

The woman sighed in frustration, her green eyes narrowed as she turned her attention to the defeated pack, which was now groaning and struggling to get to its feet.

"Isaac..." Scott fretted, kneeling down beside his stirring boyfriend and Isaac winced as he pulled himself up, wiping the blood away with his sleeve, trying not to whimper as the pain hit him.

"I'm fine." He muttered weakly, Scott pressing a relieved kiss into his hair.

"I'm fine too thanks for asking." Stiles complained waspishly, getting to his feet as if nothing had happened and after giving Scott a glare that he didn't notice, he ran to Malia's side, lifting her up weakly as she moaned in pain, clutching her head.

"I didn't care for that." She complained, and Stiles gently rubbed away some of the blood with his sleeve.

"Aiden, Aiden..." Ethan begged in a panicked voice, only to have his hands hit away by the exasperated older twin.

"Hey, no kissy gay stuff, I'm fine, but if you see my dignity I'd like it back." He grumbled, a trickle of blood coming from his head, but he ignored that and began checking over his wincing twin who was panting weakly, sounding like his airway was blocked, and Aiden growled, vexed, and held his brother to him, growling as Ethan tried to protest, and chastised, Ethan bowed his head and took some of his brother's energy.

"Danny, are you ok?" Lydia asked as she helped him to his feet, his face covered in blood from his nose.

"Ow, no." He complained and Ethan struggled against Aiden's hug on him, but another growl from the elder twin, who was flinching a little as he pressed his brother to his now livid chest wound, but kept going, snarling at Ethan to make sure he sucked energy from him to heal like he was meant to be doing.

"Our voices are back, is everyone ok?" Kira asked, hobbling a little as her healing abilities kicked in and tried to heal her.

"Other than getting kicked around and our dignity and in our cases masculinity being gone, yeah, we'll live. Stiles?" Isaac asked as he watched his friend hold Malia tightly.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He snapped, making Isaac flinch a little.

Scott suppressed a sigh, knowing what was bothering him but really, Isaac had been closer and Stiles had already been moving. Deciding he would fix that problem later, he missed Aiden, who had now released Ethan who was fussing over Danny, giving Stiles a very suspicious look.

Lydia then turned to look at the newcomer, who, as she didn't look like she was trying to kill them, she figured was on their side.

"Thank you, you saved our skins." She said in relief, and the older woman focused her vivid green eyes on the young banshee.

"Indeed I did, though I shouldn't have needed to. Tell me, do you always stand back and let others do your work for you?" she asked in a cool voice and Lydia looked at her, surprised by her rudeness.

"What, no! What am I meant to do, scream at her?" she demanded, and the woman nodded.

"Precisely. You have gifts child but you do not use them! You could have helped this pack, but you chose not to, why?" she demanded, looking supremely annoyed and the rest of the pack was looking at the exchange in interest, though admittedly Aiden looked as though he approved of her attacking Lydia.

The red head spluttered.

"Because I can't do anything, I can't turn my stuff on and off like they can, it doesn't give me claws or anything, what am I supposed to do?" she demanded, and the woman looked at her in shock.

"You really have no idea of what you can do, do you?" she asked, sounding slightly shocked, after all, she had known she was young and untested but she hadn't expected this.

"No, and who the hell are you to come here and lecture me?" the girl demanded, and the woman smiled.

"Quite right, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Martagh, a Scuffock, and as of now, it is my mission to train you, help you harness your abilities and become the banshee you were always meant to be." She told her, but to her surprise, no one said anything in response to this pronouncement.

"You're a who?" Malia asked, sounding a bit overwhelmed, and Martagh turned to face her.

"I'm a Scuffock, a guide and mentor for Celtic warriors, of which I am one myself. Young Alpha," Martagh said, her voice having a strange sound to it that Scott couldn't quite place, and he was even more distracted when she bowed to him, "I ask your leave to train your banshee." She said formally, and Scott, a little overwhelmed at being bowed to, shrugged his shoulders hesitantly.

"Well that's up to Lydia isn't it?" he asked, and she straightened, giving him a look as if she thought he was trying to be funny.

"I need your permission, as her Alpha." She said in a voice of restrained irritation, and Scott nodded, but unable to help the feeling that he was missing something.

"Sure. Um, what was that thing that wiped the floor with us?" he asked, and Martagh favoured Lydia with a cold look.

"She is your natural enemy child, as the antelope fears the lion, so to must a banshee fear one of those creatures and that one, she was incredibly powerful, which means she is very old and very dangerous. She has come for you, and you alone. If your pack hadn't intervened, she'd have killed you and been done with it." She told her, and Lydia scowled.

"Alright, fine, but what is she, what is she called?" she demanded, after all, she was the only one in the pack who could translate Latin, and hence had the bestiary (though she did have Isaac for some able bodied picture looking at, bless him).

Martagh looked at Lydia, then shrugged feebly.

"I actually don't know, I know what it is, what it can do, but I've never heard it's name. As you can imagine, her penchant for stealing voices means that she is a rather hard opponent to warn people about." She informed them, and it was as if the entire pack seemed to sag in slight despair.

"What does it want?" Kira asked, still limping as she tested out her foot.

"The voice of a banshee. As she demonstrated, she can steal the voices of others, but in order to keep the power they afford her she must kill a banshee, if she steals a banshee's voice, her scream, then she retains the power of that scream. It's similar to killing an Alpha, she takes the power of the banshee. Stealing voices restores her, you see, they are born like that, stealing voices is like her food, but in order to move beyond what she is, the twisted, gnarled voiceless old woman, for that she must kill a banshee. And to add incentive to the task, killing a banshee will also restore her youth, looks and vitality. Make no mistake, the entire pack is in danger, but none more so than you young one. We must begin at once with your training, you are very far behind as it is." Martagh informed Lydia, who predictably looked at her as if she was crazy.

"Well excuse me for being bitten and almost killed by a murderous werewolf who came back from the dead, going crazy and hearing voices, I must have missed the letter inviting me to Hogwarts. And now I'm to be trained, who does that make you, Yoda? Whatever you're here for, forget it. I'm out of here!" she decided, and promptly turned on her heel and stomped off from the scene.

Martagh looked at the retreating banshee in incomprehension, not quite grasping what had gone wrong there. She was about to give chase, after all, the girl was badly in need of training and what was more the natural predator of the banshee was out there, this was no time for her to be on her own, but before she could do anything, Danny laid a hand on her shoulder.

"No, leave her." He advised, and Martagh looked at him incredulously.

"She needs to be trained! And while we're on the subject, you lot could do with some training as well." She said sniffily, and Scott felt his heckles rise a little.

"Hey, she ambushed us alright, and she was something we haven't seen before." He justified, and she arced a pencilled eyebrow at him.

"And what good would that excuse have done you if she had killed you like she was about to when I arrived?" she pointed out, and Scott's eyes flashed red a bit, but he relented.

"Look, we've all just had our asses kicked, and you've pissed off Lydia, you just told her she's useless and her natural predator is in town to kill her. Give her some time to cool off alright? Whatever else she says, she does want to be able to control her powers, and if you can help, she'll listen eventually." Stiles advised, and Martagh bit her lip before nodding slowly.

"Very well, I shall heed your advice. Until later then." She said and tapped her stick against the ground, and to their great surprise, vanished in a swirl of autumnal leaves.

"Huh, cool." Malia said, impressed by her exit.

"Ok, I'm going to put it out there: do we trust her?" Ethan asked, his arm around Danny's waist, and Scott narrowed his eyes in contemplation.

"That's the question isn't it? I mean she did save us, but it wouldn't be the first time someone has used us to get what they want, look at Gerard. But she did seem quite on the level, but there was something a little...off about the entire thing." He said, eyes narrowed, and Isaac nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, mainly when she was talking to you. And isn't it kind of convenient? Lydia's been struggling with her powers for ages, and now this Martagh chick suddenly shows up and offers to help her and us hone our skills? Isn't it kind of...?"

"After the horse has bolted?" Kira asked, and Isaac nodded, yeah, it did seem that way, a little late for that sort of help to be having an impact.

"And what exactly is a Scuffock?" Danny asked, and Scott turned an amused smile onto him.

"Well you're the one who figures out everything supernatural on your own, you tell us. Right, is everyone ok?" he asked, and the entire pack nodded.

"Yeah. But aren't you meant to be some sort of super Alpha that can kill anything that comes your way?" Malia asked impatiently, and to Scott's great irritation, Stiles looked like he thought she had a point, which only served to irritate him further.

Oh yeah, like he wanted that thing to kick the living snot out of him and everyone he cared about, if he could have stopped her he would have. The damn thing had nearly killed him and the others, and that thought was terrifying enough, they'd not long lost Allison, nearly lost Aiden and now they're having a go at him for not being able to defeat some new creature that ambushed them?

"I was fighting her and I hurt her, but she was so strong. Excuse me if I'm not a superhero." He snapped, trying hard not to lose his temper.

"Yeah but Scott, you are the Alpha, aren't you meant to be stronger than that, able to take more punishment?" Stiles asked, not meeting either of his best friend's eyes because Scott was a mixture between anger and like he was about to cry and Isaac's eyes were glowing gold and his fangs were extending, he knew they were poking the bear here, and that if Isaac lost his temper, the twins would go with him, but still, Scott's meant to be strong, and here they all were, getting thrashed around again, and it was just one creature.

"Enough." Isaac hissed, eyes glowing and Malia opened her mouth to say something else, so Isaac lost all form of patience and roared.

Stiles and Malia both jumped, and Malia bowed her head a little, cowed by her prime Beta and Stiles did look ashamed of himself, the entire group now quiet.

"Um, shouldn't one of us make sure Lydia gets home safe? I don't think after the way she acted towards her we can rely on this Martagh to save her again. Aiden?" Kira asked hopefully, trying valiantly to break the awkward silence that had fallen and trying to ignore the angry glances that Isaac and Stiles were sending at each other while Scott looked away from the rest of them.

"Oh, do I have to?" he complained bitterly, after all, she had just dumped him, he didn't want to go and babysit her now, particularly if she was in a foul mood.

"Please." Kira asked gently, and he sighed, relenting, after all, he didn't want everyone to know he and Lydia weren't together anymore right not, though he expected Ethan already knew.

He then stalked off, his head bowed, anger coursing off him and his claws growing from his fingers. Ethan watched his brother go, his face a mask of concern, but as he did so, he put the pieces together and pieced together what had happened. Aiden's anger, Lydia's actions, both of them storming off...she had dumped his brother.

He was going to kill her.

"Ethan, what's wrong?" Danny asked, squeezing his hand which he saw was now growing claws and he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

"Someone beat up my boyfriend." He said smoothly, calming down, and it was true enough, he was pissed that someone had hurt Danny, but he was just as pissed at Lydia for dumping Aiden.

Mind you, he supposed it actually meant it was over and she wasn't just using him for sex anymore like she had been, that was something he supposed.

"Ok, why don't we all go home, we've had enough excitement for one night, and Danny, you should go to Melissa at the ER." Isaac advised, but Danny shook his head.

"No, it's fine, she just hit me in the nose. I'll clean up and if it's still bad tomorrow then I'll go. Are you guys ok?" he asked, and Ethan hesitated, he never had liked the fact that Danny went along with the pack on dangerous things like this, and if he had his way...

But Scott remained stubbornly silent, and was definitely not looking anywhere near Stiles, who was looking at his shoes in shame.

"We're just tired and trying to recover our masculinity, even Malia and I. See you all tomorrow." Kira said softly, trying to make them all talk, but when Stiles, Malia and Scott didn't even look up, she sighed sadly, exchanged a hopeless look with Danny and slinked out of the alley.

"Come on, you can come to mine and get cleaned up before I take you home." Ethan sighed, and led Danny out of the alley, leaving Scott, Isaac, Malia and Stiles standing there, most of them still not looking at each other.

"Um, so, see you tomorrow then." Stiles ventured awkwardly, but Scott remained unmoved and didn't even respond, and Malia exchanged an embarrassed look with her boyfriend as they received the cold shoulder from their Alpha, who they had basically just questioned the competency of.

However, while he ignored them, Isaac certainly didn't, and show them a poisonous look as they left the alley, and once he was sure they were both (ie, Malia) out of earshot, he turned his attention to his boyfriend.

"Don't let what they said get to you." He whispered, leaning his chin on Scott's shoulder and gently stroking his slightly messed up side parting.

"They're right, I'm meant to be the Alpha and I can't save anyone. I got Allison killed, and I couldn't do anything, it was her who figured out how to stop the Oni, I didn't stop the Nogitsune, not without you and Kira, and now some other foul thing comes along and I can't even protect my pack. I'm pathetic." Scott mumbled, but Isaac wasn't going to hear any of that, and he walked in front of Scott, tilting his sad brown eyes to meet his blue ones.

"None of that, you hear me? Scott, we were ambushed. And look at the record of Alphas in this town, Derek wasn't exactly stellar, neither was Peter. Even Ennis and the twins and Kali, look what happened to all of them! Scott we were ambushed by something we've never seen before, and I know Martagh had a go at us but you were right, how were we meant to see that coming? And you are not pathetic. You still lasted longer than all of us, and none of us got killed, so masculinity aside, we did pretty good considering how powerful that thing was. You're the youngest Alpha we've ever come across, and unlike all the others, you aren't a natural born killer. You can't just turn it on, you need to work on it. And considering everything you did to save his scrawny ungrateful hide, I'd have thought Stiles would have been a bit more grateful than that. It isn't your fault, and you were fighting her, and you were still protecting Lydia just by doing it. You are not pathetic, ok?" he intoned softly, stroking his cheek and Scott sniffed a little and eventually gave a weak nod.

"Thanks." He muttered in a sort of choked voice and Isaac kissed his forehead tenderly.

"You're welcome. Besides...you can't be expected to save the entire pack on your own, you're only as good as the rest of us, and she'd already smacked us around before we even got our bearings. It's not your fault. And anyway," he said kissing his boyfriend's cheek, "your forte isn't destroying. It's saving. And we're all kind of living proof of that." He said kindly, and counted it as a battle won when Scott smiled shyly.

"Thanks. Come on, let's go home. Aw crap, we'll need to go in the window, if grandma sees us coming in looking like we've been mugged she'll call in every favour she was ever owed and have the entire state police on the case in minutes." He lamented fondly, and Isaac grinned a little, savouring it.

After all, tomorrow at school after what had happened tonight was not going to be fun. And while he was mad at both Malia and Stiles, he couldn't ignore the fact that the twins had not automatically jumped to Scott's defence either.

XX

"Leave me alone!" Lydia raged, hearing footsteps behind her, but then she heard an exasperated sigh.

"It isn't Martagh, it's me." Aiden replied curtly, sounding supremely annoyed that it was actually him, and she looked at him wearily.

"Aiden, I've just been told that the new creature in town is here specifically to kill me and that it's because I don't have a clue that we nearly all died. Now isn't the time." She said wearily and Aiden glowered at her.

"I'm not here for that." He snapped back, after all, he had just had his ass kicked by some old witch with an open neck wound, all of which had happened while trying to protect the girl who had just dumped him for reasons unknown, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with her drama.

"Then why are you here?" she asked angrily, and Aiden smirked.

"What's the matter Lyd, not liking someone doling a little of your own medicine back at you? After all, I suppose I should have seen this coming, you've been avoiding me for months. Sucks to suddenly not be good enough doesn't it?" he asked waspishly, and she came to a stop in her march, looking genuinely hurt by that accusation.

"Aiden, that isn't what this is about at all!" she exclaimed, and Aiden sniffed.

"Yeah sure. I'm just not good enough for you. Never really was." He said brusquely and Lydia opened her mouth slightly, wondering what she should say.

She knew him too well. He was angry, and had every right to be, and she knew she had been a bitch to him recently, and tonight had just been the last straw, dumping him on top of everything else. And while he did just sound angry, she knew better. He was hurt, and legitimately believed that he wasn't good enough for her and she didn't know how she was going to sort this.

"Aiden, I swear..." she began but he just glowered at her.

"Save it. We're over right? You don't need to explain. Let's just get you home." He said lifelessly, and she totally loathed herself as she fell into step behind him.

"Aiden..." she tried, needing to try and fix this somehow, not that she had any idea how.

"Just answer one thing: did I ever mean anything to you at all?" Aiden asked, determinedly not looking at her as they walked along the quiet and deserted street, silence surrounding them.

Lydia came to a stop, hurt that he could even ask that. But, well, could she really blame him? After all, she hadn't visited him in hospital, hadn't even sent a card, had been avoiding him after he got out and only really spending time with him to have sex, and after that she had upped and left without so much as a thank you usually. She looked at him as he walked a few steps ahead before realising that she wasn't following and came to a stop, looking impatient.

"Come on I don't have all night." He ordered and she shot him a filthy look.

"Well excuse me if I don't think the world revolves around you." She snapped back, irritated by his tone, especially on top of what had happened with Martagh.

"No, of course, you're the centre of the universe aren't you?" Aiden asked with a cold smile and she saw in that moment that this was not going to be nearly as pleasant as Scott and Allison ending things.

Yeah this wasn't going to be pretty at all.

She was about to snap back when she heard a whooshing sound behind her, and she turned in time to see a pair of glowing amber eyes coming right for her. She screamed, throwing herself to the ground and out of the way and caught a brief glimpse of black feathers and talons before she heard Aiden roar in pain, clawing in the air at their attacker.

There was a loud screeching as Aiden roared, trying to swipe at the thing that was attacking him, malevolent amber eyes hanging above him as vicious claws ripped into his shoulder, the attacker flapping massive black feathered wings as he did it. Desperate, Aiden jumped up and crashed his teeth around a thick, scaly foot.

The birdman gave a shriek of pain and a lethal beak went right for Aiden's eyes, forcing him to raise his hand to protect himself. The birdman screeched once more, talons ripping into his shoulder before it flew off into the darkness, leaving a bleeding and shaking Aiden behind as he looked at the point where the evil creature had disappeared.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded weakly, his shoulder throbbing with pain and he could feel warm sticky blood gushing down his side as Lydia ran over to him, looking panicked.

"My god, are you ok? What was that thing?" she asked, shoving him to the closest streetlamp, both of them hissing through their teeth as they saw the damage that had been done.

Two deep bloody gouges were now in his shoulder, and there were several smaller scratches on his face and hands, along with one large puncture wound from the thing's beak in the middle of his hand, and to her great surprise, Lydia saw that Aiden was shaking, not from some reaction, but out of fear.

Whatever that thing was, it had been silent and could very well have been deadly.

"I'll be fine." He said, quivering a little as he looked around nervously, fearful of another attempt.

"Have you really got a death wish?" she whispered, forgetting about werewolf hearing and he glared at her viciously.

"Oh yeah, because it's my fault there's some other foul creature in town wanting us all dead! I didn't ask to be attacked, and both times I've been attacked tonight have been related to you! Why's that I wonder?" he challenged, and she glowered at him, livid.

"Hey, I'm not blaming you, but why didn't you just, I don't know, do something else?" she demanded, and he scowled.

"Like what? Let it kill me, carry me off, eat me?" he snarled back and the two of them stood there, in the middle of a dark street, glowering at each other.

This wasn't the time for them to be close together, not after she had just dumped him with so much as an explanation. Add that to the fact that they had now been attacked twice in the same night, by two different creatures, their tempers were rather high and both were getting increasingly angry, frustrated and hurt.

"That's not what I meant. Come on, the least I can do is help clean you up." She said, and despite his anger at her, she was sure there was a little flicker of hope in his eyes as she said it, which she decided to ignore and started making their silent way to her house.

Two new creatures, because she was pretty sure that hadn't been what had attacked her. There were two creatures in Beacon Hills, one of them gunning for her and the other gunning for goodness knows what.

"We need to call Scott." Aiden said, and she nodded.

"I know, he needs to know there's something else in town, maybe one of the weird smells Malia picks up. What do you think it was?" she asked softly, eager to keep even this little bit of conversation going.

Aiden frowned, wondering the exact same thing himself. It had been like a bird, a sort of birdman, but he had never encountered anything like it before. A birdman that swooped down silently, he hadn't even heard the damn thing until Lydia had, what sort of creature could sneak up on a werewolf?

"It was like a bird of some sort, with talons, a beak, wings...I've never heard of anything like it before." He admitted, and she relaxed a little as she saw the house.

"We'll figure it out. Hey you don't think it's Martagh do you?" she asked hopefully, the thought of the pack getting rid of her was a rather pleasant one right now.

"Nah, she has wings but they looked different, besides I think they only come out in moonlight. What's that on the porch?" he asked, stopping as he looked at her house, and she looked at the porch to see a massive wooden crate sitting outside the front door.

"Oh seriously mom? We're going bankrupt as dad's stopped paying child support and you're still ordering off of QVC! What has she bought now?" she asked herself, heading towards the crate, which was about six foot long.

"Lydia..." Aiden said hesitantly, it couldn't be, he had to be hearing things.

She walked up to the crate, frowning. There was no address on it, no reason to explain why it was here so late at night, no note from a helpful neighbour who had taken it in, it was just a large massive crate, sitting outside her house with no explanation in sight.

Still figuring it was her mother's doing, she was about to try and peer inside when Aiden took her hand, pulling her away, an odd expression on his face.

"What?" Lydia asked, surprised and he sent her an odd look.

"I hear something coming from inside it." He told her, and he was now sure, bizarre though it seemed.

"Hear what?" she asked curiously, and he gave her a significant look.

"A heartbeat." He replied and she looked at him as if he were crazy.

"What, seriously?" she asked, and he nodded grimly.

"Yeah, there's a heartbeat in there, a very slow one, but is there." He told her, his voice odd.

Lydia looked at him in shock, someone was inside the crate, but who, why, and why were they delivered to her, who had delivered them to her?

"A human heart?" she asked weakly, and he nodded, his nose wrinkled, there was an odd scent that he couldn't place there was something else to the box that was messing up his sense of smell.

"Yep. Want me to open it?" he asked, and she nodded as he extended his claws.

And so, as if it was every day one found a crate on the front porch with a beating heart inside it, the two of them gave each other a last look before Aiden ripped the top off the box, and Lydia screamed in alarm, while Aiden screwed up his nose in disgust as the full smell hit him.

It was long and deep, lined with straw and a few blankets for warmth. An awful smell of an unwashed body hit them both, making them both take a step back to try and cope with it, as various other unpleasant smells assaulted their noses, but determined they pushed through the smell to behold what the crate contained.

Other than the blankets and straw, there was a bag of fluid that was attached to a drip, though the bag was almost empty. There was also a sort of small hookah pipe, which Aiden snarled at furiously, as half hearted little black puffs of smoke emitted from it.

"That thing, it's pumping out wolfsbane." He growled, feeling weak just getting a smell of it and Lydia quickly reached in, pulled it out and threw it into the bushes as she and Aiden beheld the body inside the crate.

The drip was attached to his right arm, and there was a sort of breath mask which had been attached to the hookah pipe which had been pulled off when Lydia had thrown it away. He was unconscious, with tight manacles having dug bloody scars into his ankles and his left wrist, the blood crusted over. His entire body looked malnourished and scrawny, and was dirty, unwashed, covered in bits of straw, dirt, and powdered wolfsbane. All he was wearing were black boxers, frayed and faded that were a little loose around his reduced waist. He was lying ramrod straight, his nipples erect as he laid there in the bottom of the crate. His face was also more gaunt, his mouth was slightly open, his tongue thick in his mouth from dehydration, and his hair was longer than usual, lank, unkempt and greasy from the lack of its usually exceptional care. His eyes were slightly open, revealing a little sliver of white. And around his neck was a large metal dog collar as if he were someone's idea of a pet.

But most disturbing of all was his right arm, which was inexplicably black, with the veins bulging through it a bright, poisonous green. His arm looked dead, the black colour, as in necrosis black, spreading up to his elbow, the poisoned veins shining through and as they looked at his upper arm, which still remained the normal tone it should be, it was like it was glowing with acrid yellow light from within, and already little black spots of necrosis were appearing on his upper arm.

"Bloody hell, what happened to him?" Aiden demanded, looking at the person in the box and then watched in transfixed horror as Lydia reached in and swept the guy's lifeless fringe from his grimy face.

"We need to call Scott. Right now." She said, and something clicked in his brain as he heard her voice shaking with silent emotion.

"Do you know this guy?" he demanded, looking at the poor wasted creature in the crate beside them, and she nodded calmly, as if she regularly found people in such a state at her front door.

"I should think so, I dated him for two years." She said matter of factly, and Aiden's jaw dropped.

"Wait, are you telling me that's?" he demanded, unable to believe it, and she nodded.

"Yes. That's Jackson."

**So, who expected Jackson to be delivered back to Beacon Hills in a box? Poor bugger, its not been a pleasant journey, three months trapped in a wooden crate, a drip keeping him alive, wolfsbane keeping him weak, covered in dirt and grime, unwashed, looking awful, i assure you he will hate it. Though his slightly longer hair has compensations in way of a new hairstyle once hes up and about. But most importantly, what the hell is going on with his right arm?**

**Oh dear, Aiden and Lydia, things arent going to be pleasant between them for a while. I appreciate they were at each others throats but they have had a kind of crappy night**

**Speaking of crappy nights, seeds were planted in this chapter for what's to come, the next conversation between Scott and Stiles wont be pleasant (oh and before any of you hate me for Stiles being annoyed Scott checked on Isaac first, its in response to my conversations with pieanddeductions, as both of us were annoyed with the way he treated cute little puppy liam when he was talking about his IED, if anyone should know better, its him)**

**Martagh has arrived, but are the pack right to be suspicious of her? What is the beastie that has no name that wants Lydia dead? And what was with the owlman's hit and run on Aiden?**

**After the break (so to speak) we check in with Chris, a new hottie comes onto the scene, as does everyone's least favourite druid and what would an episode with teenage romance be without more heartbreak?**

**Anyway, as you all know you lovely people, favourite, follow and please leave me lots of reviews, id really like to know how you think im doing so far with my season four, so please click that button and enjoy!**


	8. Episode 2: Silence Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"Are you kidding me?" Scott demanded as Lydia filled him in.

He and Isaac had just been about to head into the house when they had received the frantic phone call from Lydia, begging them to come right to her house, and despite themselves, they had both come, arriving at the same time as a frantic Danny and a confused Ethan. Lydia had quickly ushered them in and had just stood and pointed soundlessly at the sofa, and as one all four boys jaws had dropped, their noses screwing up at the same time.

"Is that really Jackson? He looks, well, like crap." Isaac summed up, looking worriedly at the unconscious wolf, who was now being tended to by a frantic looking Danny.

"It's him alright. Scott they delivered him in a bloody box, look at the state of him! He's so thin, so weak, so dirty...so smelly." She mumbled ruefully, and Scott could only agree, he knew it wasn't his fault but boy did Jackson stink.

"How long has he been like this, do we know?" Ethan asked as Aiden joined them, chased away by Danny who was now looking at his best friend with an expression that mingled relief with fear and sadness. At least he was alive even if he was far from his normal state.

"This was in the crate with him, we think it's what was keeping him alive, you reckon your mom could figure anything out from it?" Aiden asked, passing Scott the drip bag that had been supporting Jackson and Scott took it, frowning.

"Yeah, maybe I suppose, I'll give it to her, see if she can at least figure anything out of it, like what was in it. Did you find the wolfsbane pump?" he asked Lydia, and she nodded, her face clouded.

"Yeah I sealed it in another QVC box my mom had lying around, I figured you would want to use it for something or other, maybe see why he's so weak. He's half starved, he stinks, he's very weak and he was shipped here in a box, huh, it might be kinder to take him to the hospital, that way they can deal with the inevitable temper tantrum when he wakes up." Lydia quipped darkly, and Ethan glowered at her venomously, but Scott couldn't see any reason he would be annoyed at her for that, truth be told, he agreed with her, the twins had never even met Jackson before now they didn't know him like they did.

"The guy's been sealed in a crate for god knows how long, I think he's earned the right to be a little pissed." He countered, and Isaac and Aiden nodded, conceding the point, anyone would be slightly miffed after being treated in the same manner.

Isaac entered the room, giving Jackson's thin, unconscious and weak form the once over, his brow furrowed as he did it. Scott watched him with interest, his eyes hardening as he took in the chains around his ankles and wrists and the large metal collar around his neck. His eyes travelled to the dirt covering him, the scars on his back that had previously gone unnoticed that had scabbed over due to the wolfsbane rather than healing like they ought to. Danny looked at him, his eyes sad and worried, as if asking permission to try and fix him, but Isaac was still searching Jackson's body.

"Um, is he checking him out?" Aiden whispered to Scott, whose temper flared slightly at the very thought of that.

"No, of course not. He's giving him the once over. Well honey?" Scott asked, his voice slightly defensive even though he knew Isaac would never go near Jackson in that regard.

Danny suppressed a small smirk because both he and Isaac clearly picked up on the defensiveness in Scott's voice but said nothing.

"I think he's alright, but maybe we should ask your mom to come and have a look at him, just in case before we figure out what our next move is?" he asked, but Scott shook his head, his eyes downcast.

"She can't afford to take any more time off at the hospital, and so far grandma doesn't know anything about all this crap and I want it to stay that way." He said, and Aiden looked at him, puzzled.

"Wait, we just found someone who's missing half a world away, and we're keeping it quiet because?" he asked, surely his parents should be told at least.

"Because we don't know who sent him here or how he got into this mess, which means alerting his parents right away might put them in danger. Aiden, someone did a serious number on him, look at him! He's starved half to death, covered in scratches, he isn't healing, he stinks, he's covered in months worth of crap, and to top it all off, there's his arm, how do we explain his arm to anyone?" Scott asked, and Aiden sighed, figuring the Alpha was right.

"Yeah but your mom, or even Deaton..." he suggested, growling out the second name, but Ethan shook his head.

"No bro, he's right. It sucks yeah but until we know more we need to keep quiet. Speaking of his arm, what is that?" he asked, sickened by the sight of the blackened limb, and Aiden looked at it warily.

"I don't know, but it smells, and differently than he does. It smells like, worse than death." He complained, looking queasy at the very mention of it, and Isaac nodded.

"Yeah, he's right. I mean, the rest of him is pretty ripe, and trust me Danny even your Armani isn't enough to cover that smell, but that smells even worse, it's like his arm is actually dying but I don't see how. And Aiden is right, he is part of an active case, and we do need to tell the sheriff that we have him but I reckon Scott's right it should wait until we know more." He reasoned, standing beside Scott as he returned to the others, breathing in Scott's scent to try and get the smell of Jackson out of his nose.

Danny looked sadly at Jackson as the others debated behind him. To see Jackson in person after all this time, after worrying about him for months, it was such a relief, even with the state he was in. But, he couldn't help but feel slightly nauseous as he looked at what had happened to him. Jackson had always been one of the ones in the best states on the team, if not in the school, and when you compared it to all the other hotties just in the team (Ethan, Aiden, Scott, Isaac, Stiles, Garrett) that really was saying something. To see him now, virtually wasted away, so weak and looking so hurt and vulnerable, it was an awful sight to behold. His black forearm looked ghastly, the lurid green pulsing veins inside them making him feel like boking, there was just something seriously not right about it, and the black spots appearing up his arms, combined with poisonous yellow veins gave the impression that Jackson was actually diseased. And then his thin, bony body, covered in muck and grime, his lank, unkempt hair, his smell, the blood encrusted around his ankles and wrists, the scars on his back...

Getting up, unnoticed by the others, he went through to the kitchen and started pouring some water into the basin, making sure it wasn't too hot. He leaned against the counter, shaking a little, the thoughts of whatever had done this to Jackson filling his head, making him want to rage, storm and kill at whoever had done this to him.

But that would come later.

The others, they would all be concerned with the hows, the whys, the whos. He wasn't. All he wanted to make sure of was that Jackson was alright. He got what the others were talking about, and understood it, but that didn't mean that because they couldn't do anything about the situation until they knew more, they couldn't do anything at all for Jackson.

He was his best friend. He wasn't going to let him wake up in that state if he could avoid it.

And besides, admittedly, unless Jackson's experience had granted him a personality transplant, it would be better for them all if he woke up in a better state than he was now, otherwise sharing a room with him would be very unpleasant. Smirking at that thought, he headed through to the living room looking worriedly at Jackson's weak form, the basin of water in tow.

"Alright, so, someone kidnapped Jackson, made him into this state, and eventually decided to send him to us. Am I the only one wondering why someone would go to so much trouble? I mean what's the point? The wolfsbane, the drip...they wanted him to reach here, which makes me wonder why, because from the state of him, it clearly isn't because they're nice guys." Scott pointed out, to which the others had to agree.

"Maybe it's his charming personality." Isaac commented, sending a slightly distasteful look at Jackson.

Scott looked at him, frowning a little. He knew he and Jackson were never going to be very good friends, that much was a given. The kanima business aside, and Jackson's personality hardly going to win him any awards, the fact that they had been neighbours for years did little to improve Jackson's standing in Isaac's eyes. Jackson's entire family had all heard Isaac's screaming, knew full well what his father had done to him and had done nothing. The fact that Jackson was an arrogant, spoilt little rich boy and Isaac was being terrorised daily by his bastard father had only served to further Isaac's resentment of the other wolf. Then of course there was the fact that it was Jackson who had incriminated Isaac and had gotten him blamed for his father's murder in the process hadn't done anything to improve that relationship, and the not so insignificant fact that Jackson had actually been the one to murder his father, well, if Jackson was sticking around, he would need to consider reassigning Aiden from being his bodyguard and making him Jackson's, in the hope that that way between the twins they could make sure neither of them drew blood.

Danny frowned a little as he heard what Isaac said, using his cloth to wipe some of the blood off of his wrists, doing so gently so as not to wake him. He knew that while some of his dislike of Jackson was irrational, he was more justified than others in the other reasons he disliked him. And just because he was his best friend didn't mean that Danny didn't know he had faults. But there were two of them in the room right now who knew that while he could be a douche to most people, he could also be kind too.

_Jackson watched as Lydia and her friend Sylvie left, smiling lustfully as he watched Lydia retreating from where they were sitting outside of the school. He cast a cursory eye over Sylvie before turning his irritated gaze onto Danny, who was sitting opposite him, staring into his lunchbox._

"_Alright, what was that about? Sylvie was clearly into you, and you just sat there, flirt a little!" he scolded, but to his surprise Danny shook his head._

"_I can't." He said quietly, not meeting Jackson's eyes and Jackson rolled his eyes in irritation._

"_Yes you can, it's easy, besides, I even taught you how. I keep setting you up with girls, and you just keep knocking them away!" he complained, and Danny glowered at him but beneath his annoyance, to Jackson's slight surprise, he looked really kind of sad._

"_Why does it bother you so much?" he demanded angrily, slamming the lid onto his lunchbox and cramming it in his bag, and Jackson sighed, as if he were explaining basic arithmetic to a highly overemotional toddler._

"_We've been through this buddy, girls travel in twos. Lydia, who I really like, is never anywhere without Sylvie. So, for me to get what I want with Lydia, I need Sylvie out of the way. That's why I need you, you're my wingman, you take the slightly less attractive friend." He explained and Danny scowled at him, his eyes burning with rage._

"_Oh, so that's what I'm good for, taking the leftovers you don't want?" he asked bitterly, and Jackson shook his head, no, he hadn't meant it like that._

"_No, it's just...look dude, everyone else has at least got someone. Even that moron Stillinski has that weirdo Erica girl pining over him. But you've never so much as been on a date, you've never even gotten close, and well, people are starting to talk, the same way they talk about McCall and Stillinski."_

_Danny hesitated, and he suddenly looked like a deer in headlights, but then looked at Jackson furiously._

"_Wait a minute, is that what you're worried about, people wondering if we're going out?" he demanded and Jackson shrugged._

"_I'm not worried about it, it's just...I don't know! I'm frustrated ok? I keep trying to set you up on dates most guys would give their left foot to go on a date with, and you always reject them! It's not just Sylvie, who really does like you by the way, it's every girl, what on earth does it take to please you? Tell me what girl you want and I swear I will get her for you, hell, is it Lydia? You want Lydia? If it's her you want, I'll let you have her, just, I don't know, flirt a little with one of them, ask one of them out, do something! You're a nightmare to please!" he half shouted, but then to his great surprise, Danny looked up at him, glaring at him through tear filled eyes, and something moved inside Jackson's chest and he suddenly felt really horrible, but what had he done wrong, he hadn't done anything that wrong had he?_

"_Well did it occur to you I don't want a girl? No it didn't! I don't like girls, that's what's wrong with me! That's why I reject them, why I don't flirt with girls, because I don't like them, I don't like girls!"Danny stormed at him, suddenly furious, tears filling in his eyes, and Jackson looked at him in shock._

_But then, the anger passed, and Danny seemed to realise what he had just admitted and before Jackson could say anything at all, Danny turned and practically fled from him._

_Danny had hidden in the music room, and he just sat on his usual chair, staring at the ground. He had just came out, he had just told Jackson, the biggest jock in the year, that he was gay. He had just told his best friend that he was gay, blurted it out, and now Jackson new. He shuddered, and wondered if it was worth trying to get away with skiving the rest of the day, but that wouldn't help, he'd have to move school altogether and even then..._

_Danny shook in panic, he'd told Jackson he was gay, he was going to hate him, he was going to make everyone else hate him, they would hurt him for being different, for being gay, for not being normal and liking girls, his parents would find out, everyone would..._

_Danny pulled at his slightly spiky hair, moaning and suppressing the urge to cry more. He'd been stupid, letting Jackson get him into such a state but the constant implications that there was something wrong with him, they were driving him crazy, he couldn't bear it anymore and he'd cracked and he'd done what he had never thought he would do, he had told Jackson his biggest secret..._

_He'd told his best friend, the best friend he'd ever had, that he was gay and because of that Jackson would never even talk to him again, he would make his life hell, what on earth was he going to do?_

_The door opened and Danny suppressed the urge to flee. There was only one person who it could be, and Danny flinched, waiting for the blow to come, but to his surprise, Jackson just sat down beside him and faced the same wall Danny was looking at._

"_So...you're gay huh?" he asked calmly, and Danny, still shaking, nodded._

"_Yeah. I'm sorry I-" Danny spluttered, but then he felt Jackson nudge him with his shoulder gently and despite himself, Danny turned to look at his former best friend._

_And to his great surprise, he didn't see anger, revulsion or anything like that on Jackson's face, all he saw was a small smile._

"_Sorry for what? For being gay? Why would I care about that?" he asked simply, and Danny looked at him as if he had sprouted another head._

"_Wait, you, you don't care?" he managed weakly, and Jackson allowed himself a small smile and shook his head._

"_No you idiot. Why do you think I came here huh? You're my best friend, and out of everywhere in the school where you would hide, I knew you would come here. I came straight here, because I knew this was where you would be. Danny...you're the best friend I've ever had. That isn't going to change just because you like guys instead of girls. And while we're on it, there's nothing wrong with you either. You're just, well, you. So, please stop crying ok? Girls crying, can see a way to make that work out better for me, you crying, it just makes me feel lousy." He admitted ruefully and Danny smiled, sniffing and wiping his eyes._

"_Ok. So, you really?"_

"_Not one little bit. And, if anyone gives you any grief about being gay, tell me and I'll sort them out for you." He growled, and Danny felt a well of happiness flare up inside him._

_Jackson didn't care. His best friend didn't care that he was gay, he didn't hate him, it was just like it always was, only now Danny wouldn't have to hide it when he was checking out other boys before practice (McCall really looked kind of adorable)_

"_Thanks Jackson." Danny whispered, relieved and Jackson smiled and nudged him playfully._

"_Idiot, thinking I'd care. You're my best friend dumbass. And besides let's face it, most people only talk to me because they talk to you. Kind of need to keep you on side." He said with a small smile and Danny laughed a little._

"_True, you are kind of a dick." He teased and Jackson sniggered._

"_Well, you would know." He said cockily and the two of them laughed._

_The two of them sat together in silence for a little bit, and then Danny looked at Jackson hopefully, a smirk on his face._

"_So, does that mean you wont try and set me up with girls anymore?" he asked hopefully and Jackson sighed, looking put upon._

"_Well I suppose so, seems kind of pointless, I'll just need to try and score alone. Least I won't feel obligated to look for a pretty date for you anymore." He said brightly and Danny sniggered._

"_Yeah, that does sound good." He admitted, and Jackson smiled._

"_Thought it might. But, well, you are still my best friend, and I feel bad if I pull and you don't, so, what sort of guys am I shopping for?" he asked curiously, and Danny looked at him in amused disbelief._

"_Wait, you'd really go scouting for guys for me?" he asked, yeah Jackson said he was fine with it and he believed him but this was, well, it was just really...well._

_Jackson nodded._

"_Well yeah, I mean I do feel bad when I pull and you don't so if I know what sort of guy I'm looking for, well, I can do stuff with it." He said, and Danny smiled, looking at Jackson, genuinely touched._

"_Thank you." He whispered softly, and Jackson shrugged, though failed to stop looking pleased with himself._

"_You're welcome. So?" he asked hopefully, and Danny smiled nervously._

"_Well, wouldn't say no to Taylor Lautner, explaining why I subjected you to watching Eclipse and Abduction." He told him and Jackson's eyes widened in surprise._

"_Oh, well, least there was a decent reason for doing that to me. Suppose I made you watch Transformers for Megan Fox so it's only fair. Ok, I know what to look for now." He said, and they lapsed back into silence and it was a few more minutes before Danny broke it again._

"_Thanks for being so cool with this." He said softly, turning to face Jackson fully, and Jackson shrugged._

"_No big deal, my lips are sealed until you tell me otherwise. Oh alright," he said, realising why Danny was looking at him like that, "just this once but don't you dare tell anyone." He warned darkly._

_And the two boys hugged, Jackson holding Danny to him firmly and Danny feeling a lot better about things than he had in a while, and reluctantly, he let Jackson pull away, he may not fancy him but it didn't mean he didn't like hugging him._

_Jackson looked at him curiously, mischief smouldering in his eyes._

"_Um, hey, since you're that way inclined, did you ever, you know, fancy me?" he asked, a sly cocky grin on his face and Danny sniggered and shook his head, he really was the biggest egotist going._

"_Actually no. You're hot sure, but you are _so _not my type." He said with a laugh, and Jackson smiled and shrugged, before shooting him a dirty look._

"_Hey, for the record, I'm everybody's type. So really, nothing at all?" he asked hopefully, and Danny smiled and shook his head._

"_Nope, you're not my type, sorry dude. But, well, you were in a dream once." He admitted and Jackson smirked, god he would be hell to live with now._

"_Really?" he asked excitedly, and Danny smiled evilly before he made the kill._

"_Yeah but not alone. You were with McCall making me happy." He gloated and Jackson scoffed, and he started hitting Danny on the arm._

"_McCall, seriously? Come on!" he complained as Danny shook with mirth._

Danny mopped some of the grime off of his friend's dirty forehead, Jackson already starting to look better than he already had when he noticed the others had stopped talking, and Scott bent down surveying him worriedly.

"Do you reckon he's, well not alright, but you know, alright?" he asked Danny hopefully, and Danny looked at Jackson, considering his answer.

"Hard to say, we cant tell anything until he wakes up, but by the looks of him, once his abilities kick in and he gets some food down him then yeah, he'll probably be fine. Well, we won't because we're going to have to put up with him in a very bad mood." He said with a slight grin, and Lydia smiled as she crouched down beside Danny, looking at Jackson fondly.

"Oh yes he'll be a delight. And no clothes, no nothing, that's all he has...yeah maybe it's best if we don't let him wake up." She mused, and Isaac looked at her curiously.

"Havent you got any of his stuff lying around, don't girls do that?" he asked, legitimately innocent and Ethan and Aiden exchanged looks as she went a bit red.

"Well yes, but only from one night stands...and long term boyfriends. But no, he took all his stuff when he moved to London." She said, her voice slightly sad, and just that little inflection in her voice made Ethan look worriedly at his brother, who was now looking at her with a calculating expression on his face.

"Wait a minute...did you know he was coming back?" he demanded, his posture tense, and Scott, Danny and Isaac looked at him in confusion.

To her credit, so too did Lydia.

"Aiden, what?" she asked, perplexed, and Aiden glared at her as if she was being slow on purpose.

"I'm asking did you know, did you have some sort of banshee feeling that he was coming back? Is that why you broke up with me, because your ex was coming back?" Aiden asked, and Scott turned to Lydia, a little growl running in his throat, his eyes dancing furiously.

"You broke up with him?" he demanded, and Lydia looked to the heavens as though praying for patience.

"Yes I did. And Aiden, how on earth could I know he was coming back, I wouldn't do that!" she insisted but Aiden looked at her suspiciously.

Isaac and Danny exchanged a silent look, while Scott glared at Lydia. To be fair to Aiden, who was clearly hurt that she had dumped him, which to Isaac implied she hadn't even given him a reason (and he knew what that was like), he supposed he did have a reason for suspecting that she had known that Jackson would reappear, after all, no one knew how her powers really worked so it could stand to reason that she had known.

"I swear I didn't know what was going to happen, I had no idea, Aiden you have to believe me!" she cried and Scott wondered just how messy this breakup was going to be when Jackson suddenly stirred, clearly disturbed by all the noise going on in the room, and with one little noise, the fighting stopped and they all looked at Jackson intently, Danny wincing, knowing that whatever was about to occur wasn't going to be pretty.

Jackson groaned, waking slowly as he rubbed his face, wincing a little as he did so with his damaged arm, and he opened his eyes groggily.

"Ugh, what the hell?" he asked weakly, and Danny skelped Scott's hand, making Scott give him a rueful look as he had only wanted to help, and Danny leaned forward and helped a weak and shaking Jackson to sit up.

"Hey, you with us?" Danny asked, everyone else silent as they looked at Jackson's weak form, and Scott suddenly appreciated how bad he looked, he looked incredibly thin sitting up like that, the smell wasn't getting any better, but at least he wasn't quite as grimy as he had been before Danny had cleaned him up a little.

"Danny? What are you doing here?" he asked in confusion, the room very bright around him, there was an awful smell as well, and he felt weak, sick, his arm felt like it was burning, and he could smell different smells around him but couldn't think what the hell they meant.

"I could ask you the same question. You're in Beacon Hills, we're in Lydia's house." He explained, his voice filled with suppressed emotion as he beheld his weak and confused friend.

"Danny? It's you?" Jackson said, his voice quivering, he felt nauseous and Lydia, scenting danger, grabbed the bucket just in case and put it beside him, and Danny tried to suppress the tears of relief he felt forming in his eyes.

His best friend was here, he was back, he was safe, he was alive, and right now, he would count that as a win.

"Yeah buddy it's me, we're in Lydia's." He said, and Jackson, his massive pupils shrinking and starting to get used to the light after having been trapped in a box, looked around, and to their surprise looked down.

"Lydia's...yeah, we had sex on this couch." He recounted and Lydia went scarlet as Aiden shot her an annoyed look.

"Oh so that's why you would never let me have sex with you on the couch because you'd already done it with him!" he cried, pointing at Jackson indignantly and Lydia shook her head wearily, then looked up at Aiden, slightly exasperated and slightly amused.

"Yes, that's why, but we had sex on the recliner in the spare room, I never let him do that." She told him which for some reason seemed to mollify him.

Scott rolled his eyes, Jackson had just been delivered to them in a bloody box and this two had broken up and were now having all sorts of silly arguments, but he would deal with them later, this was not what you needed after being ambushed by some unknown creature who kicks your ass, have your best friend basically tell you you were a useless Alpha and discover Jackson had returned to them.

Danny shot a dirty look at both Lydia and Aiden as Jackson shook his head, still looking pale as he tried to get everything back to working order, his eyes finally adjusting to the light.

"Ok, take it easy. We're at Lydia's. What do you remember?" Danny asked softly as Jackson winced in pain, then it seemed as if his brain finally kicked into high gear and started to catch him up on everything that had happened, and he started struggling, his heart rate spiking dramatically as he remembered everything that had happened.

"No, where are they, are they here? What am I doing here, I was in London, they had me, their eyes..." Jackson said, panicking, and Scott pulled Danny back as Jackson was getting himself into a state and as a result, claws were starting to grow.

"Jackson, Jackson! Calm down ok, you're safe now, you're home." He told him, holding Jackson's face in one hand and as Jackson's glowing blue eyes focused on Scott's warm brown ones, despite himself he did start to calm down.

"McCall?" he asked hesitantly, and Scott could bet he knew what was going on inside his head.

During their fight while he was the kanima, unlike everyone else, Scott had been the only one to insist that they not kill him whereas everyone else had wanted him dead. Scott had been the only one who believed that Jackson didn't deserve to die, and something had changed between them. After they had saved him and he had turned into a wolf, Jackson and he had parted on fairly good terms considering it was the two of them, ending with Jackson thanking Scott for fighting so hard not to kill him. He had then apologised to Scott for everything he had ever put him through before vanishing from town.

"Yeah, it's me Jackson. You're home. What do you remember?" he asked softly, making Jackson focus on his eyes and Jackson looked as though he was about to answer when he looked up at Scott, his face frantic.

"Nothing. I don't remember anything, I remember...I remember it being dark, those, those horrible yellow eyes," he recounted, his voice shaking in fear, "and, and something across the sun, but nothing else." He told him and Danny glowered at Scott, shoving him out the way.

"Ok buddy, you need to calm down. Ok, deep breath, just like I made you do every time you had a hissy fit because Scott got made co-captain." He reminded him, while Scott shot them both a perturbed look, and Jackson nodded, taking a deep breath, trying to get his anxiety back under control.

"What happened? And what the hell is wrong with my arm?" Jackson demanded, finally seeing the black arm and he once again lost control, panicking, and Isaac rolled his eyes, seized both a yelping Danny and Scott by the ears, lifted them to their feet and shoved them out of the way as Jackson totally lost control.

"Jackson, calm down. Listen to me ok, you're panicking, it's like I do when I'm trapped in an enclosed space. What was your anchor?" he asked softly, looking intently at Jackson, his eyes glowing gold, and it seemed that with the extra bit of wolf authority, he could break through the panicked daze that Jackson was in.

"Wanting to be better, stronger." He panted, and Isaac nodded, though he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, trust the kid who had everything to want more.

"Alright, focus on that. Otherwise, you'll be just as much as a basketcase as I am, and I don't think you want that." He said with a small smile and Jackson began to take deep breaths, getting his breathing back under control.

"I feel like I'm stuck, that I can't get out." He explained, and Isaac nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I know how you feel, and after what you've just been through, I sympathise. You came here in a box, Lydia just found you on her porch tonight, but it looks, and smells, like you've been in there a while. But you're out now, ok? You're safe, you're not trapped anymore. We got you out." Isaac intoned, and to the other's surprise, it worked, Jackson was calming down, his eyes were still frantic, and he was still looking anxiously around the room but he was starting to calm down.

"I can still feel it." Jackson said, looking at his arm and suppressing the urge to vomit.

"I know you can. I get that too. But what you do is, I usually focus on something, an object, or a person's voice or just a person that wasn't in there with you, that's what I do." He said, the soft affection in his voice leaving the others in no uncertain terms as to who he thought about when he was trying to calm himself down, and Jackson nodded, and Isaac smiled smugly as he heard Jackson's heart rate going back down.

"He'll be hell to live with now." Scott complained and Danny grinned a little as the two sat down beside him, facing Jackson while an anxious Lydia and the curious twins hung in the background.

"Ok, what the hell is going on? And what the hell is that smell? And...where are my clothes?" Jackson demanded angrily, suddenly registering that he was only clad in boxers and looking less than pleased about it.

"Alright, don't freak out ok? Just keep calm. We just found you, you've been missing for the last three months. Your parents have been going nuts, no one's seen you, no one knew what had happened to you, you just vanished. And tonight, Lydia came home and found you outside on her porch. You were, trapped in a crate, hooked up to a drip and poisoned by wolfsbane. And...well I don't know where your clothes are but, well as that smell is you. We don't know how long you've been in there but, it's been a while." Danny said, figuring it was best if all this news came from him and Jackson snarled angrily, but kept control of himself, though his eyes glowed blue.

"Wait, whoever kidnapped me, whoever has those freaky eyes, trapped me in a crate and shipped me back here?" he demanded, snarling a little, but Scott ploughed in.

"These eyes, what are they?" he asked curiously, and Jackson actually shuddered.

"They're creepy, they're these shining sickly looking evil yellow eyes, they're about all I can remember." He said, and Lydia sank down beside him, wrinkling her nose in disgust as he pulled at his slightly overlong hair with an expression of disgust.

"You can't remember anything else?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"Nothing." He retorted, squirming uncomfortably, god that smell was awful, it was him, when was the last time he had washed? He hated this, and...he was starving, as his stomach illustrated.

"So, we have no idea what happened to you, how you were locked in the crate and how you got here. Yeah seems about right for Beacon Hills." Isaac sighed, and Jackson looked at them all, finally taking in the twins.

"Who are you two?" he asked suspiciously, and Scott smiled slightly, yeah this part would be fun.

"This is Aiden and Ethan, they're part of the pack." He explained, and Jackson glowered at Ethan first to their surprise.

"You're the one Danny's dating?" he asked, and Ethan, surprised, nodded, and Danny smiled.

"Hey, you did pay attention!" he exclaimed happily but Jackson ignored him, glaring at Ethan suspiciously, before he turned his attention to Aiden, who he gave the once over and a slight nod to which Aiden returned, and Isaac smirked at Scott, yeah, Danny had clearly told him that Aiden and Lydia were dating too but after the customary sizing up of each other, Jackson turned back to Danny.

"So, I've been missing for three months, trapped in a bloody crate, no one knows where I am, and I can't even remember what's happened to me?" he demanded furiously and Danny nodded.

"Pretty much. Look Jackson, I know it's a lot to take in, but you need to calm down." He begged and Jackson snarled at him, making Danny flinch and Ethan growl threateningly, his eyes glowing blue.

Jackson turned to face him, his eyes widening in surprise as Ethan snarled at him, and Scott suddenly got a feeling that something very bad was about to happen.

Jackson gave Ethan a threatening growl and Ethan responded in kind, making Danny look at them in confusion.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, and Isaac was shaking his head desperately, but trying to get Jackson's attention when he was glowering at Ethan, and now Aiden was growling at him too, seeing that his brother felt threatened.

"Danny..." Jackson said worriedly, and Danny looked between them in confusion, wanting to know what was going on, his face confused.

"Jackson." Scott warned, but Jackson wasn't listening he was too busy looking at the twins glowing blue eyes.

"Jackson, what is it?" Danny asked, but suddenly Ethan's head seemed to kick into high gear, realising what Jackson's problem was and his eyes flashed back to normal, before giving a frightened look at Danny, who was getting fed up of not being answered and stood in front of Jackson, placing his hand on his still grimy bare chest, looking annoyed.

"What?" he demanded and Jackson calmed down, seeming to accept that the twins weren't much of a threat.

"It's nothing, they just threw me off because they had blue eyes like me, I was worried. But I suppose they can be trusted." He said lightly, but Danny looked between them in confusion, not grasping why Jackson had been so agitated.

"What's that matter?" he asked, and Scott wanted to intervene, to shut them up but he could tell that Danny wasn't going to go quiet until he had a proper answer.

"Don't, don't you know what makes our eyes different?" Jackson asked, suddenly looking very worried, and Danny shrugged.

"I just assumed it was for the different ranks, red for Alpha, blue for Beta." He said, and Scott prayed that would be the end of it.

"Um, no, it doesn't matter. Forget about it." Jackson said hastily, but it was too late now the cat was already out of the bag.

"What?" Danny demanded insistently, and Jackson sighed.

"You're right, red does mean an Alpha, but...well blue doesn't mean Beta. It means they've killed people, it's why my eyes are blue as well." Jackson said, and Scott, who obviously hadn't seen much of Jackson since he had left, heard the regret in his voice as he told his best friend that.

"Wait a minute, blue means they've killed people?" Danny asked, his voice constricted by something, looking at the twins with an unfathomable expression on his face.

The twins looked at each other desperately. While all the others had know about their pasts, because of Ethan's relationship with Danny, they had tried to keep the less than savoury aspects of their past from him so he wouldn't think any less of Ethan and wouldn't be freaked out by what they had used to do for Deucalion. And the plan had worked so far, with Danny believing they were simply the ones who helped hold down Deucalion's enemies while the others dealt with them.

"Danny, you have to understand..." Ethan pleaded but Danny had turned away from a mortified looking Jackson and was now facing his boyfriend, a disbelieving expression on his face.

"Have you killed people?" Danny asked weakly, and Ethan and Aiden exchanged helpless glances before Ethan, looking upset, turned back to face Danny.

"Yes." Ethan whimpered weakly, and Danny took a frightened step back, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Wait, you actually have killed people?" Danny demanded, but Jackson laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Danny, I've killed people too, look how many I killed!" he protested, clearly realising he had caused problems for them all but Danny wasn't listening.

"You actually did kill people didn't you? You told me it was all Kali and Ennis, not you two, you told me you were just his thugs." He said, his voice rising as he came to this realisation.

"Danny you have to understand..." Ethan began, and Danny glowered at him.

"What that you didn't want me to know because you knew I wouldn't like it?" he demanded, and Ethan shook his head desperately.

"No, it wasn't that at all! Danny please, let me explain, yeah, we've killed people, but Deucalion made us do it! We didn't have a choice!" he insisted, but it was then that Danny looked at him suspiciously, his brain clearly working over time.

"Erica and Boyd...you killed them didn't you? You pair are the reason they're dead." He gasped weakly, but Isaac got to his feet, coming between Danny and the twins, Ethan looking like he was on the verge of tears.

"Danny, look...maybe they should have told you the truth but they were trying to protect you. They just didn't want you knowing, they didn't want to put you in this position," he said, glaring at a sheepish Jackson as he said it, "but they weren't the ones who killed Erica and Boyd, that was all on Kali, not them. Trust me, they've changed. Their eyes might be blue but they aren't killers anymore." Isaac insisted, but Danny shook his head, glaring at Isaac.

"You all knew and none of you told me, what did you think I just shouldn't find out?" he demanded, but Ethan crossed to him, trying to take his hand but Danny pulled it away, looking at Ethan angrily.

"I should have told you, ok, I admit it! I just didn't want you to...to hate me because of what I am." He whimpered but Danny shook his head, looking at Ethan, something significant having changed between them.

"So you kept it quiet that I was dating a murderer. Don't you think I ought to have known that?" Danny demanded and Ethan looked desperately at Danny, tears in his eyes.

"I-I just, I didn't want you to think that I'm a monster." He whispered sadly, and Danny looked conflicted for a moment, everyone else in the room watching with bated breath.

"You killed people Ethan, and...and you weren't even controlled. But worst of all, you kept it from me. I...I just found out my boyfriend is a murderer, and that they're somehow tied to the deaths of people I know...wait, that's why Isaac thrashed you when we went to cross country, you nearly killed Scott too didn't you?" Danny demanded, and Ethan nodded, looking scared.

"Yes that was us but Danny you have to understand we didn't have a choice! Deucalion, all of it, you need to understand..." Ethan begged, but Danny shook his head.

"That you lied to me, that you're a killer, and that you thought you would get away with keeping it from me! Ethan, can't you see why this is bothering me? I've been dating a murderer all this time, and you didn't even think I needed to know!" Danny stormed at him, and Ethan looked at him desperately.

"Danny, I would never ever hurt you, you know that! I would never hurt you. Is that what you're afraid of? I would never hurt you, even before even if Deucalion had ordered it, I would never have hurt you I love you." Ethan insisted, but Danny shook his head, his eyes narrowed.

"Ethan you don't get it. I've been dating a killer, one who didn't even think I needed to know that, who thought I shouldn't know what you are, and I find out that you tried to kill people I care about, you did kill people I knew! How am I supposed to deal with that?" he asked weakly, and the entire room went silent as they knew what was coming, and Ethan was actively crying now.

"Danny, please, I'm sorry, that's not who I am, not who we are anymore! We're not killers anymore. I'm sorry, I know I should have told you everything but I was afraid that...this would happen." Ethan sobbed softly, and Danny closed his eyes, unwilling to look at him right now.

"I think you should go. Just...give me time ok?" he asked quietly, and Ethan looked at Danny in shock, his lip trembling.

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?" he asked softly, and Aiden closed his eyes in dismay behind his brother.

"Just...give me a while. Please?" Danny asked, still not looking at Ethan, and Aiden looked frantically at Scott, who simply gave him a sad look, feeling helpless.

He did get it, he really did. Danny was shaken, he had spent so long thinking that Ethan and Aiden had, while being violent and working for Deucalion, had never actually murdered anyone. Unlike Jackson, who had had no control over the murders he had committed as he had been controlled by Matt and then by Gerard, the twins, while they were in thrall to Deucalion, had had some degree of free will. And he discovered that Ethan had never told him that he had committed murders, had been involved in the deaths of Erica and Boyd and the near deaths of both him and Isaac, and worse that he had kept all of it from him in the first place, while praying Danny would never find out. Perhaps Danny was being a bit naive, but he could at least understand why he was so shaken to find out the person he loved so much was actually a reformed murderer.

"Ok. I-I'm sorry." Ethan whispered and turned and practically fled from the house, Aiden lingering only long enough to give Scott a hopeless look, and Lydia a filthy one before he too fled the scene, both twins in high dudgeon.

"Danny, I...I'm sorry. I thought you knew, I was just trying to, well." Jackson began but petered out, but to his surprise it was Scott who fixed him with a look as Danny was staring at the wall, lost in thought.

"We get it. For once, you weren't being a dick." He said kindly, and Isaac looked sadly at Danny, wondering just where he and Ethan would go from there.

They couldn't actually break up could they? The two of them were so good for each other, but this, well this was something none of them had wanted to foresee. They had all known that eventually the truth would come out and Danny would learn just how involved in the Alpha pack the twins were, and just how loyal they had been to Deucalion until Danny and Lydia had tamed them, but, well, maybe they had all been naive in believing that Danny would just accept their past as the rest of the pack had. Admittedly though the rest of the pack had known from the start what the twins had done, that was one part that they had kept quiet from Danny. He might have learned about werewolves and all by himself, but if he hadn't figured everything out about the twins then they weren't going to enlighten him. But now, well, maybe in hindsight they should have told him.

"Hey Danny, if you didn't know what our eye colours really meant, why did you think I had gold?" he asked curiously and Danny sniffed before turning back to face him, shrugging slightly.

"I figured they were gold because you were the prime beta." He said sadly, and Isaac sighed, well, he supposed that at least made sense.

Lydia glared at Scott, basically telling him to get a shift on, which he scowled in response to but did move.

"Jackson, I know you're not going to want to hear this, but we need to keep this quiet for now." He told him and Jackson turned to look at him furiously.

"What? I've been missing for three months and now you're telling me I still have to stay officially missing? My parents probably think I'm dead!" he yelled, but Danny shook his head.

"No they don't, they still think you're alive. It's just the police who think you're dead." He assured him, but Jackson simply gave him a dirty look before turning back to Scott.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pick up the phone and call them right now?" he demanded, and Lydia scowled at him.

"Because genius, you just got sent here, freight class, in a box after being missing for three months, Now, that doesn't cry, good guy to me somehow. Whoever sent you here meant to do you harm, they might have sent you back here sure, but they're not friends. And as you were living in London when you vanished, there's a good chance whoever did this to you is still there and is waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack your parents. If you call them you could be putting them in danger. So, Scott's right," she said, giving Scott a look of approval that made him perk up a little, "until we know more, you need to keep quiet. It's for everyone's own good, at least until we find out who sent you here, why and more importantly, what the hell is going on with your arm." She reasoned, and he opened his mouth to argue but then deflated, but he looked at her desperately.

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do? My arm is doing who knows what, I stink, I have no clothes, I'm starving, I've not had a shower in about three months, I have no idea how I got here and even if I stay here, what am I supposed to do? No clothes, no home, no money, no car, no nothing, what am I supposed to do?" he demanded, and Danny's eyes flicked towards him.

"You can stay with me for the time being, my mom will keep quiet, and she knows you're one guy that I would never sleep with, especially at the moment." He said with a slight grin, but Jackson only shot him a raging look in turn.

"But what do we do about telling the sheriff? We need to tell him, and besides, it can shove it to your dad's competency proceeding too if the sheriff shuts a case that started in London." Isaac said cheerfully, and Scott grinned a little, pondering.

"We tell him in the morning, but we ask him to keep it quiet until we figure out what's going on. He knows about this stuff, he'll be fine. I hope." He added lamely, and Isaac bit his lip, if anyone, ie, Scott's dad, got wind that he was keeping stuff from an ongoing investigation there would be hell to pay.

"But my parents, look, I need to call them!" Jackson insisted, and Scott rolled his eyes.

"And you can! Just not yet. Let us talk to the sheriff first ok? Give us twenty four, no forty eight hours, then regardless you can call them ok? Please?" he wheedled, and Jackson scowled at him but relented, nodding.

"We're trying to protect them. Trust us. After all, Scott's the only sap who fought to save your life, so trust him a little bit more would you?" Danny asked, and Jackson nodded begrudgingly.

"We can make do until then. I'll go and look for something for you to wear." Lydia said as Jackson silently steamed at his situation.

"Do we need to tell Derek I'm back?" Jackson asked in an annoyed voice, and Isaac quirked an eyebrow.

"Why would we do that?" he asked in confusion, and Jackson turned and looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Um, I don't know, maybe because he's the Alpha and might have a better idea of what to do than McCall here." He said, and Scott rolled his eyes as a smile of extreme delight had just appeared on Isaac's face, and he looked to Danny excitedly.

"He doesn't know does he?" he asked, and Danny shook his head.

"No, I thought it was best to wait to tell him kind of in person." He replied lamely, and Jackson folded his arms across his bony chest, glowering.

"What don't I know?"

"Derek isn't the Alpha anymore." Danny replied, making Isaac pout a little, but the look of sheer confusion on Jackson's face softened the blow.

"What? Since when?" he demanded, and Danny shrugged.

"A few months back." He admitted lamely, and Jackson looked at him furiously.

"Alright so who is the Alpha?" he shot at him, and Scott cleared his throat, and as Jackson turned to look at him, he allowed his eyes to flash red, and was rewarded with a look of the utmost outrage appearing on his face.

"You have _GOT _to be kidding me!" Jackson stormed, and Isaac smiled smugly.

"Nope. And do you want to know the best part? He's not only the Alpha, he's your Alpha!" he gloated, and Jackson let out a vicious snarl.

"No way. If you think I'm going to report to him, you're even dumber than you look Lahey. I am not going to have McCall as my Alpha!" he vowed, and Isaac smirked.

"Um, yeah you are. See, when you rejected Derek's bite, it made me the prime beta, so, when I defected to Scott, I kind of dragged you down with me, which means you're as much his beta as I am. Sucks to be you huh?" he goaded and Jackson snarled, claws growing and Isaac got to his feet, meeting Jackson's glowering face and extending his own claws.

"I did not just travel for three months in a crate to be told I need to report to that idiot." Jackson insisted, and Isaac shook his head.

"Well, sucks to be you, because he is your Alpha so you'll just need to deal with it." He told him, and Jackson scoffed.

"No way, never in a million years, and I'm not reporting to you either." He insisted, raising his claws and growling in challenge, making Isaac's eyes flash gold as he growled back, claws ready.

"Really? You think you can take me right now? After three months in a crate? And even then, something makes me think that without the scales and the tail and the paralytic claws I'd be able to take you." Isaac snarled, and Jackson snarled before Scott stepped between them, barking at both of them

At the merest sound of Scott snarling, Isaac backed off, returning to normal, looking slightly upset, and Jackson was sure he heard a little whine as he backed off. He began to laugh but at that, Scott turned his attention to him and roared, and Jackson sunk to his knees, shivering in the face of the Alpha's fury, and he stayed looking at the floor, cursing himself, Scott and Isaac as he shivered.

"Enough. Jackson, deal with it. Now, just give us two days ok? Then we can figure out where we're going to go from there. Ok? Trust me. Please?" Scott asked softly, and Jackson raised his eyes up to Scott and nodded.

"Sure, ok." He whispered and Scott nodded, smiling a little.

"Good. I know this stinks, but just bear with us ok, give us some time. And...odd though it sounds, it is kind of good to have you back." He told him before he beckoned to Isaac, who gave Jackson a last nasty look before following Scott from the house.

"You just make friends wherever you go don't you?" Lydia asked in patient amusement as she returned with some clothes, and Jackson glared at her as he got back to his feet.

"McCall the Alpha, and Isaac looking like he wants to fuck him, it's pathetic." He grumbled maliciously, but Danny shook his head.

"Isaac rarely fucks Scott, it's usually the other way around." He said, and Jackson looked at him in shock.

"Wait, what?" he demanded, and Lydia gave him an odd look.

"You do know Scott and Isaac are dating right?" she asked, and he spluttered in disbelief.

"No! When did this happen, what else have I missed?" he demanded indignantly, and Danny shrugged.

"You only cared about Lydia and me so that's all I told you, and then you vanished. And so on top of being Scott's prime beta, he's also his boyfriend, so word to the wise: do not piss off Isaac, because that means you piss off Scott and he's very protective of him." He advised as Jackson sank into the chair, weak with shock.

"What the hell?" he asked weakly.

"And on top of that, Scott is the only one who fought to save you. You owe him, so don't go out your way to give him trouble." Lydia admonished, and Jackson started to protest but, well she was right, Scott had fought to save him when everyone else wanted him dead. He remembered what Scott had said when he and his cronies had trapped him in the armoured car, Allison and Stiles had been all for killing him, but Scott had insisted they had to save him, and that he wasn't as bad as he seemed.

So, he did owe him, not that he'd admit it.

But then a thought occurred to him, and he looked up at Lydia curiously.

"Wait, Scott's gay? And he's dating Isaac? Where's Allison?" he asked, and as Lydia and Danny exchanged loaded glances, Jackson suddenly got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach and instantly decided that he didn't want to know.

"It...it happened just after you vanished. Allison's, Allison's dead." Danny admitted quietly and Jackson looked at his best friend in disbelief.

It couldn't be, no, not after everything, out of all of them, he ought to be the one who was dead, not Allison, she was a hunter, she was strong, tough...

"She was killed by the Oni, demons. Three months ago." Lydia mumbled and Jackson felt as if the ground had just shifted beneath him as it occurred to him just what he had missed in his absence from Beacon Hills.

Allison was gone. A friend, someone maybe more than a friend who he had been starting to care about, and she was gone...and he hadn't even been able to, well been unable to do anything about it whatsoever.

"Allison..." he muttered softly as Danny sank into the chair beside him as the full weight of what he had missed hit him.

XX

A shot rang out and the charging creature gave a surprised whimper before it slid to a final stop, the three hunters emerging from their vantage points as they beheld the dead creature.

It had been an arassas, a reptilian creature with the dexterity and skills of a cat, and had been picking off travellers through the Alps for months now. The three of them had been tracking it the last two weeks, and now, it was finally dealt with.

"Well, you may not be quite as active anymore, but at least you can still shoot." A man with shoulder length black hair and a beard said happily, wrapped in a heavy winter jacket with an orange hat that made him stick out like a sore thumb.

"Yeah, but not as good as me. Mind you, few are." The woman with them said, dressed in heeled boots, leather pants, a dark brown see through top with a suede jacket about her, her brown hair curled into ringlets about her face.

"You keep telling yourself that Natasha." Chris told her with a smile, stroking his beard as they considered the creature as snow fell about them.

"She will." Gareth, the other man, said with a smile as he checked there was nothing else nearby.

"Why shouldn't I tell myself the truth?" Natasha challenged with a superior smile, holstering her guns.

"One of these days something will get you, and that'll teach you." Chris warned though there was no heat to it.

After leaving Beacon Hills, he had travelled to France, deciding there were plenty of things he could be doing there. After a few necessary investigations that had yielded little, and figuring Isaac would blossom more if left to his own devices rather than his constant oversight, he had fallen in with Gareth, the two of them joining forces to deal with various creatures that were plaguing the country (Gareth said he was on holiday, which to him meant killing creatures that weren't native to Britain), and when it had come to the arassas, they had encountered Natasha, who had been begrudgingly accepting of their help as she admitted she'd had severe trouble tracking it.

And now the creature was dead, people were safe, and it was time to put this case to bed.

"Since you both gatecrashed my hunt, why don't you two dig the grave for it?" Natasha asked as the snow seemed to get a little fiercer around them as Chris checked his messages.

"Just because you're a lady doesn't mean you get to boss us around you know." Gareth grumbled resentfully, pulling his hat tighter about his ears as Chris listened to the messages Isaac had left for him.

The natural enemy of a banshee, the arrival of a Scuffock in town, Jackson being delivered in a box, and a request that he go to London and tell Jackson's parents that their son was actually alive, were all the messages that played out on his phone, though admittedly Isaac did sound resentful on the last message.

"Problem?" Natasha asked, and Chris frowned.

"It looks like Beacon Hills is back in business. A Scuffock has shown up in town." He informed them, and Natasha's eyes narrowed.

"A Scuffock? Strange that she would show up there when it's a wolf domain. Is this to do with your pet pack?" she challenged, and Chris shot her an annoyed look but nodded.

While he had told both of them the tale of what had brought him here, and hence about the pack, Natasha was much less willing to accept the fact that there was an entire pack in Beacon Hills living there without Chris making their life a misery. Simply put, she couldn't understand why a hunter just wouldn't put them down, memory of his dead daughter or not.

"Apparently, she's there to train Lydia, you know, the banshee. Just in time too, she's being hunted by something with no neck, which is apparently the natural enemy of a banshee." Chris explained, and Gareth looked up from his hole digging.

"Their natural predator? That would be a Pombero. Nasty bitches, not the sort you want to deal with alone, and if she kills a banshee, well, she gets even nastier." He informed him, and Chris frowned.

So, a Scuffock and a Pombero had both shown up in town recently, and both of them seemed to be gunning for the pack, a thought which gave Chris pause. Should he head back? He had vowed on his daughter's memory to protect the pack as much as he could, after all, they had lost enough, and it's what Allison would have wanted him to do. With the Pombero in town, Lydia, who was Allison's best friend, was at the very least in grave danger.

But then there was the other message, about Jackson turning up and asking him to go to London and inform the boy's parents that he was actually alive.

He needed information, and first he needed it from Isaac. He needed to know all about what had happened with Jackson, and then he could make his decision. But if he was indeed bound for London, well, there were sources he could call on there, who would be able to help with information about the Scuffock and the Pombero.

He smiled grimly.

Time for a road trip.

"Who fancies a trip to London?" he asked, earning him two surprised looks as the snow swirled around him.

**First of all, I have two apologies, one for the lateness of the chapter (I was entertaining twice this week then out a third time so everything got kind of thrown off and delayed) and second for the lack of action in this chapter, the Jackson scene took way longer than I thought it would**

**First of all, Danny and Ethan. Danny finally knows everything and hasnt taken it well. I know he does seem naive, and I hope it came across well that he really was shaken. He was used to thinking of Ethan as this good guy who was forced to do slightly bad things, to me it never occurred to him that he actually was a killer. I hope it does translate well, it was a difficult scene to do. So the main question there is, will he and Ethan get back together? Please dont hate Danny, no one should hate Danny for this, but he is a bit shaken up learning just how many skeletons (perhaps literal) Ethan has in his closet**

**On the other hand, i did enjoy writing the scene where Danny comes out to Jackson, I hope you enjoyed it. And ones mind did wonder, i had an alternate version of the scene that i decided wouldnt fit with Jacksons character so we got that one**

**Speaking of, i hope i managed to capture Jackson well, to me hes a character who works rather well on the show but not quite as well on the page, particularly when hes already grumpy like he has every right to be this chapter. and just what is going on with his arm?**

**And now Chris is back on the scene! Arrow fans will recognise one of the hunters he goes to see for information on both Martagh and the Pombero**

**So, apologies again, but next time we have more to look forward to, Allegra is back, bodies are found, Stiles needs to grovel, Scott needs to grovel too and we have everyones favourite baby wolf (though he isnt a wolf in this story) being cute and adorable (seriously, I want a Liam hes so cute. Though i am kind of bummed they killed Garrett, he had a lot more potential. And he was hot. But I digress...)**

**Anyway, lovely people, please be kind, and continue to follow, favourite and review and i shall hopefully have the next chapter up very soon!**


	9. Episode 2: Silence Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"Two victims, early to mid twenties, both showing signs of laceration and scratches. Sorry to say sheriff but it looks like an animal attack to me." Haigh informed the sheriff the next morning, the sun barely even up yet and all of their breath floating in front of them in the cold morning air.

Stillinski frowned at the two young bodies, and looked across at Deputy Charles Elba, an old mentor of his, who he had asked out of retirement to help make up the shortfall caused by the Oni attack, which he was relieved to say he had been willing to help with. Elba shook his head once, and John had to agree with him, yeah, this was no animal attack. But while Elba was going to be looking for a human culprit, he wasn't quite so sanguine.

This had supernatural written all over it.

His other young deputy, younger even than Parrish, Deputy Sandy Sands (he weekly made death threats against his mother for his name, which he could sympathise with at the very least) came over, looking grim, with two wallets bagged.

"Two victims, one Eric Mason, age twenty two and the other one Karl Temple, twenty three. And...their dog." The young man said, looking queasy, and John looked over to the mauled corpse of the unfortunate animal.

"Poor bloody thing, what sort of sicko kills the dog as well? Alright gentlemen, we have everything we need here, you know the drill. Ah there you are Parrish." He said in relief as his second in command came out of the squad car, looking worried about something.

"Sorry sheriff, I was checking something else out." He said significantly, and giving a nod to Elba, who nodded and took over operations, he moved over to the side with the younger man.

"What did you find out?" he asked, and Parrish bit his lip nervously.

"Well, ever since I was brought onto the chessboard so to speak, I've been keeping an eye on the nemeton. And when I went there this morning, just before I got the call about this, I noticed it had changed. There's sort of dark vines, thorns growing around it. But, it's the wood, it's going black." He told him, and the sheriff looked at him sharply.

"Black? What do you mean?" he asked, and Parrish looked worriedly about.

"I think it looks poisoned." He told him, and the sheriff considered this.

If the damn tree was poisoned, did that mean it was dying? If it was dying, it would hopefully stop all the crap that went along with it being recharged in the first place, but after all, this was Beacon Hills and just because the tree looked poisoned didn't necessarily mean that that was a good thing. After all, there was a good chance that if the tree was poisoned that it would only cause problems for everyone else.

"Hmm, alright. I'll have a word with the kids, see if they know what's up with it." He said grimly, and Parrish looked at where the coroner was putting the bodies into the van, and no one seemed to quite know what to do with the poor dog.

"What did I miss? And sorry." Parrish said sheepishly, but the sheriff waved him off.

"Double murder, and Haigh naively thinks it's just an animal attack. Oh for it to be an animal attack." The sheriff said wistfully as Parrish smiled grimly.

"So what, you reckon it's some new supernatural joy?" he asked and the sheriff gave him a grim smile.

"And you don't? Sad isn't it, that's become the go to for everything bad around here." He complained, and Parrish was about to respond when Sands called over to them.

"Chief, there's a lady here to see you." He called worriedly, and as the sheriff headed over, Parrish scowled.

Don't get him wrong, Sands was nice enough, but he was a bootlicking little git. Some people had a puppy like eagerness to help and it was quite endearing, Scott for example, he was cute and so unassuming that was sweet when he did it. Others, like Sands, were so eager to please and butter up those further up the food chain that they just earned the ire of everyone else because they were basically crawling and seeking approval and wanting to further their own ends. In fact, the fact that Sands was a bootlicker who was just crawling and wanting to make himself look better was the only thing that he and Haigh agreed upon.

"A lady?" John asked as he approached the young blond deputy, who pointed towards her before he made his way out of Parrish's way. Chuckling (he knew that was Sands not such a bootlicker Parrish would probably get on very well with him) he headed over to the police banner that marked the crime scene, his face breaking into a genuine smile as he saw the older lady on the other side of the tape.

"Flattery will get you everywhere sheriff, at least you and your shiny new recruit there knows how to treat a lady." Allegra said smiling in pleasure as he approached, and he ducked under the tape and wrapped the older woman in a hug.

"Captain Delgado, it's great to see you. You look amazing." He said as she hugged him back fondly.

"You're looking rather handsomely rugged yourself John. How have you been?" she asked, her well trained eyes scanning over the crime scene, rolling her eyes as Haigh seemed to be trying to block her view.

John considered his answer. When he had first started out as a rookie cop, Allegra had been the local captain, in charge of several districts all reporting to her, and had taken a shine to him at the time. In fact she had even tried to set him up a few times with her daughter, who he had later discovered was Melissa, in an attempt to dissuade her from the man she had been dating at the time. However, by that time John had met and had fallen in love with Claudia, and Melissa had regretfully fallen for Rafe. Despite that, he had remained friends with her and had of course become friends with Melissa up until Allegra had retired a year or so before Scott was born. He had always thought well of her, and respected her and looked up to her. He had always felt at ease with her as well, which was why he was considering telling her all that was on his mind, but no, he was a professional, and besides, he didn't know how much she knew.

And besides, he was rather enjoying sneaking around with Melissa and he felt vaguely certain that telling her mother about them might let the cat out of the bag.

"Alright I suppose. Same old." He sighed wearily, and Allegra looked over at the crime scene.

"That's one thing I don't miss, early morning murder calls. Why is that deputy trying to block my view?" she asked in annoyance and he chuckled as Parrish joined them.

"In his defence, he doesn't know you used to run the entire county, and technically you aren't meant to see crime scenes anymore. Allegra Delgado, this is Deputy Kyle Parrish, my second in command." He said and she gave him a smile and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you. We're going to finish up and get everything back to the station. I wondered if you wanted to talk to Deaton since animal seems to be the flavour of the month." He asked with a half smile, and John suppressed a small surge of anger, the good vet still hadn't earned his forgiveness for not helping Stiles when he needed it.

"I'll give you that single pleasure. Take the poor dog too, poor beast." He advised, and he nodded and gave Allegra a friendly smile before disappearing.

"Oh my...if I were a decade younger, or even just had him in a bar one night..." she mused and John shot her a scandalised look.

"Allegra!"

"Can you blame me, look at him! Anyway that's not why I'm here, though if he became why I was here I could be persuaded to leave...anyway, I'm here to offer my help!" she said brightly, and he shot her a bemused look.

"Allegra, you are retired, you know full well that means you can't be actively involved in any active cases anymore. So whatever you want, the answer is no." He said, slightly regretful, after all, there weren't that many deputies and now there were these murders which meant the other cases would probably need to go on hold. And, this was Beacon Hills so if this was the attack of a creature like he suspected, there would probably be more coming his way on top of everything else.

Allegra sighed and looked edgily around before nodding.

"Oh come on, I only have an interest in one case." She told him patiently, and he arced an eyebrow at her, having a rough estimate as to what case she was interested in.

"Let me guess, Derek Hale?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Yes John. You know as well as I do that something is majorly off with all of it, and that's just from what Melissa told me. Come on John, I can help." She insisted.

"Do you think he's innocent?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Scott does. That's good enough for me." She assured him, and he allowed himself a small laugh.

She was a stubborn one, just like her daughter. And her grandson for that matter.

"What do you need?" he asked, not believing he was even considering this.

"From what I've heard, there are some gaping holes in the entire thing. I just need a look, perhaps a chat with this Derek. Oddly, while Melissa believes he's innocent, she's not entirely sold on saving him." She said in confusion and John suppressed a smile, figuring Allegra wouldn't be quite so gung ho about lending a hand to Derek if she knew he was the reason Isaac had moved into Scott's house.

"You really think that you can help?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Just from what I've heard, this all seems too neat in some places. In others it seems far too messy. The entire case sounds off, and besides, this Derek is important to Scott. I want to help, and besides, you're about to have your hands full with everything else around here," she said, nodding at the departing coroner van, "let me help. And besides...with Melissa working and the boys at school all day, I need a project to keep me occupied. Come on, John this suits everyone, what harm can an extra pair of eyes do? Even if I can't see very well because I left my glasses in the house." She admitted lamely and he chuckled.

"Alright. But," he warned, pointing his finger at her, "we set ground rules. The last thing I need is your son in law coming back and sticking me in another competency proceeding because I let you in one an active case."

Allegra gave him a cold smile, her eyes flashing at the mention of Rafe McCall.

"My dear John, he wouldn't dare." She assured him silkily and while it wasn't directed at him, he still felt the ice beneath her comment and decided he would not want to be Rafe the next time he encountered his mother in law.

"Come on then, let's get you to the station and get you started." He told her, and smiling happily, she followed the sheriff back to his car, determined to do some good while she was staying here.

XX

The corridors were bustling as everyone traipsed into the school, but Isaac was ignoring them. He was focused solely on Scott, who was supremely annoyed and seemed to be taking it out on his locker, which he had to admit, was putting up a good fight. When Scott seemed to be struggling to get into his locker, Isaac reached out and took his hand, stopping him just before he pummelled the door in frustration.

"Shh." He whispered into Scott's ear, using his thumb to rub little circles onto Scott's hand, and Scott sighed wearily.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm being a nightmare." He grumbled and Isaac smiled at him sadly.

"Hey, even true Alphas are allowed off days." He told him and Scott looked at him miserably.

"Yeah but I had an off day and as Stiles so kindly helped point out, it nearly got all of us killed. " he complained and Isaac sighed, fixing Scott with a stony look.

"Honey, we both know what's really bothering you." He said calmly, and Scott shot him an annoyed glare.

"Oh the fact that I almost got my entire pack killed, that the twins got dumped, that Jackson showed up out of nowhere and that there's some new creature in town that wants to kill us all is in town isn't enough?" he asked waspishly, and Isaac shook his head.

"No, because what's really bothering you is what Stiles said, and you and I both know it." He told him matter-of-factly, just as the despondent looking twins appeared, both of them seeming to droop. While they looked the same as normal, there was something about the way they were carrying themselves that just seemed to cry out that they felt miserable. Even Aiden's spiky hair seemed to have a sort of depressed droop to it.

Scott decided to ignore what his boyfriend had said, mostly because he was right on the money, and looked to the twins.

"Hey, I'm sorry we didn't stand up for you last night but after Danny..." he began, but Ethan shook his head, cutting off his apology.

"It doesn't matter, we know why you did it. Have-have you guys seen Danny?" Ethan asked hopefully, but Scott fixed him with an apologetic look.

"Sorry buddy, we haven't. But considering he's now Jackson's chief babysitter, I reckon he's probably taking today off anyway, at least until we can figure out what we're doing about him. Lydia probably will too, see if she can find anything out about how Jackson wound up here." He told Aiden, and both twins seemed to sag even more.

"I should have told him, we all should have told him then this..."

"Hey, it was an accident waiting to happen. Even if you had told him about it, I don't reckon he'd have reacted much differently." Isaac assured Ethan, patting his shoulder, but that failed to cheer the twin up.

"It's not fair! Jackson killed people and he still likes him! I mean, what's the difference? Or did he and Jackson ever, you know?" Ethan asked worriedly, and Scott shook his head, and despite his distress he found Scott's reassurance rather comforting.

"No, Danny at least has some taste. As far as we know he's never done anything more sexual than a hug with him. That's not what this is about buddy. All of a sudden he found out that someone he loves had a whole other side. Believe me, I've been there, on both ends, and it kind of sucks from both ends too. He's just a little freaked out, and when you think about it, can you blame him? Put yourself in the shoes of a normal person, which, pack stuff aside and all too clever he might be, is basically what he is. To someone who's never been caught up in the supernatural like we have, finding out your boyfriend is knee deep in dead bodies has to be a shock." Scott said kindly, and while Ethan did still look miserable, he did seem to accept this argument, however begrudgingly.

"I suppose." He mumbled, and Scott wrapped him in a one armed hug, squeezing Ethan a little to try and cheer him up.

"Hey, trust me. We've known Danny longer than you have. And you make him a million times happier than he ever was with the last guy he dated, the one who broke his heart last time. Just give him some space, it'll be fine." He assured him, and Ethan could feel the power of his Alpha's belief in both him and Danny washing over him, making him stronger, and he certainly picked up a little.

"Thanks Scott." He muttered while Aiden continued to scowl, though he did look relieved that Ethan had perked up a little.

"And at least we know Danny won't run back to his ex, unlike Lydia will." He complained, and Isaac bit his lip thoughtfully.

"I don't think she will, I think after everything that happened between them when he was the kanima, they're kind of well and truly over. I'm not saying there's nothing there because there obviously is, but I don't think either of them want to get back together." He theorised, and Aiden glowered at the world in general.

"So it really is coincidence she dumps me the same night her ex shows up on her doorstep?" he asked bitterly, and Scott sighed.

"Aiden...look I know it stinks. I've been there."

"Um, so has Isaac, thanks to you." Ethan reminded Scott helpfully, grinning a little, and Aiden grinned a little as he saw the look of annoyance spasm across Scott's face, but he ignored his twin while Isaac tried to disguise his snigger as a cough.

"What I mean is, it doesn't always make sense. When Allison first dumped me I had just saved her life." He told him, and Aiden looked at him in disbelief.

"Seriously? There's gratitude for you." He commented, which Scott decided to pass over.

"Look...sometimes it just doesn't make sense. And for what it's worth, I reckon it's more to do with her than anything you did wrong." He said kindly, patting Aiden's arm, and Aiden smiled a little, yeah it was petty, but blaming Lydia did make it seem a hell of a lot better.

"Hey, we're sorry for last night, we should have spoken up." Ethan said sheepishly as Aiden basked in the glow of his Alpha's affection.

"It doesn't matter." Scott said, looking away from them, and Isaac looked at him sadly.

"Scotty, don't let what Stiles said get to you." He wheedled, and Aiden nodded.

"Yeah, ignore him. He probably didn't mean it, we were all kind of pissed last night after getting our asses handed to us by the scary old Jedi lady." He said, his eyes misting over and Ethan poked him in annoyance.

"Hey, mind off the comics!" he insisted, but Isaac smirked.

"He's not thinking of a comic, but that's not the point. Aiden's right," he said, nuzzling Scott with his nose a little, "Stiles didn't mean it. And even if he did, well that's what they're for, they'll kick the crap out of him for you!" he said brightly, and Aiden nodded.

"Yeah, well, I will, might not go over too well with Danny if Ethan kicks the snot out of Stiles. But you want him roughed up, I'll do it!" he offered happily and despite himself, Scott laughed.

"No. I know he was scared, we all were. So don't punch him. Even though he does kind of deserve it." Scott ordered and Isaac smiled, that was the Scott who believed the best in everyone, the one he fell in love with.

But, regardless, he did need to talk to Stiles, without Scott, maybe take the twins with him too. After all, you don't nearly make Scott cry and get away footloose and fancy free. He could use the twins to help put the fear of god into him. And if they didn't work, well, he was the prime beta, and he reckoned without the Nogitsune inside him, he could kick the scrawny runt's ass if that's what the situation called for.

The bell was about to ring and as Ethan and Isaac started debating the soap opera they both watched (Scott had virtually been banished from his living room one night as he, Isaac and his mother had been debating about who the murderer was in the latest storyline) Aiden started talking to Scott about lacrosse, which speaking of which...

"Hey Liam." Scott said happily as his vice captain went past, and to his surprise, both Mason and Garrett groaned.

Liam turned an angry, hurt glare onto Scott, and took a step towards him, which seemed, despite his size, rather threatening, so Aiden automatically took a step in front of his Alpha to protect him from the smaller raging kid.

"Liam, calm down." Garrett pleaded, and Mason rather bravely went in front of Liam and looked into his eyes.

"Hey, you need to calm down, or I'll have to do it and you didn't like that did you?" he asked, but the sheer venom he sent Mason's way in a single glance made the taller boy back off and retreat safely behind Garrett who sighed, bemused.

"Coward." He sniped at him, and Mason glowered.

"Hey, he's your friend too, you could do something other than just try and pull him back." He snapped back bitterly, and Garrett shot him a bored look.

"Yeah, and if he cracks and leaps onto Scott, I'll need to pull him off since last time he knocked you on your ass." He retorted as Liam glowered at a very confused Scott.

"Liam, what is it buddy?" he asked, sensing that he was on very dangerous ground, not just from Liam but for him too, because if he made any move to hurt Scott, like he looked like he wanted to, the twins, both of whom virtually had their hackles raised, would jump on him too, and roaring in the corridor would cause all sorts of problems, the least of which was probably detention.

"Oh I'm your buddy now? Did I pass your ridiculous hazing thing?" he demanded angrily, still in control of his temper, but that was going to slip soon as Scott and the others looked completely clueless as to what he was on about.

"Liam what is it? What's wrong?" Scott asked kindly, and beneath the anger that was raging off the kid, he could see a little trace of hurt in his eyes as he glowered at him.

"Last night, you asked me to keep everyone inside, so I did. I was doing it for ages, making up the most ridiculous excuses to keep everyone inside, all of them were laughing at me, having drinks thrown at me when people started getting drunk, two of them hit me and I still kept doing it! So are you happy, did I pass your dumb hazing thing, did it make your night, laughing at the idiot freshman doing what his captain told him to do because he was stupid enough to believe you were a nice guy!" Liam roared and so angry was he that even Aiden, loyal and willing to protect Scott till the last, took a step back.

Scott exchanged a mortified glance with Isaac, who shrugged back at him sheepishly, yeah, they had all kind of forgotten Liam. They'd had other things on their mind, the woman who attacked them, Martagh showing up and then finally Jackson reappearing it had driven the freshman right from their minds. But...the kid had done exactly what Scott had asked him to do, long beyond when anyone else would have done it, anyone else would have given up and gone home, or brushed it off. But, it seemed as if Liam really believed in Scott and had been wanting to justify Scott's trust in him so he had done exactly what he had been asked, as if he had wanted to prove to Scott that he was deserving of his role of vice captain, as if to prove to Scott that he could trust him.

Isaac bit his lip as Scott looked at the furious freshman before him, and resisted the urge to go 'aww'. Stupid sweet Alpha rubbing off on everyone.

"Liam..." Scott said, in a strange way kind of touched that Liam had put himself through so much hassle just for him.

"What? Thinking of another way to humiliate me?" Liam bit out, but the way that Mason and Garrett were looking at him made it clear that this reaction was different than usual, it was more hurt than angry.

"Aww Liam, I'm so sorry! Things got a little hectic when we left and I completely forgot I asked you to do that. I'm sorry buddy. But why on earth didn't you just go home?" Scott asked softly as the other pack and Liam's friends looked on curiously as Liam looked at Scott, a little bit resentful and a little bit embarrassed.

"I...I was doing it so you knew you could trust me, I was trying to prove that I would be a good vice captain to you." He mumbled, barely audible, in fact Garrett and Mason looked at each other in confusion as they didn't hear what he said, and the other wolves struggled but Scott heard it alright, and he felt a strange sensation in his stomach.

It wasn't like he didn't have people being loyal to him, Stiles (usually), Isaac, the twins, Derek, Allison, Kira, all of them had proved that they would be more than willing to go to the ends of the earth for him, but to be so loyal, to endure ridicule and be punished for what he was doing and still doing it, all to try and prove himself to Scott, that, that was a little different.

"Liam, I swear I didn't mean to make a fool of you. And you don't need to prove anything to me, I already know it. How about I make it up to you? You and me, on the lacrosse field after school. You can show me how good you really are." Scott offered and Liam perked up, looking at him hopefully.

"Really?" he asked excitedly, and Scott nodded, a grin on his face.

"Yeah, really. I really am sorry by the way." He assured him, but Liam grinned, seeming much happier than he had a while ago and bounced off with a cheerful goodbye, leaving Mason and Garrett looking at each other in confusion.

"Ok, no explosion, no blood, no nothing. I feel strangely unfulfilled." Garrett mused, not quite sure where this left him.

"Can we bottle you?" Mason asked curiously, making Scott look at him as if he were crazy.

"Huh? I don't smell that good." Scott said in confusion, and Isaac looked at him speculatively.

"You do to me." He commented innocently, enjoying bringing a little tinge to his boyfriend's cheeks.

"No, what I mean is, you just defused Liam. We've been trying to do that for years, and you just had a few words and he went back to being his usual happy go lucky self, how did you do that?" Mason demanded excitedly, and Scott looked at him in confusion.

"Wait, I get he was pissed but..."

Garrett suddenly had a look of dawning realisation on his face, figuring out why Scott seemed so clueless.

"You don't know do you? Liam never used to go here, he used to go to the prep school the next town over. But, he was kicked out when he took a metal baseball bat to the lacrosse coach's car. He has anger issues, he's been diagnosed with IED." Garrett explained, figuring that since Liam was so pleased to be even talking to Scott that he wouldn't mind him telling the tale.

"IED?" Ethan asked, perplexed, when a quiet voice came up behind them.

"Intermittent Explosive Disorder, it means he can't control his temper, and the smallest thing might bring out a very violent reaction." Stiles explained as he edged into the group, feeling the hostile looks he was getting from Aiden and Isaac as he did so.

"What did the coach do to him?" Aiden asked, shocked, he seemed like such a little nice kid, yet he took a bat to his coach's car?

Mason sighed.

"His coach was a bit of a dick at the time, I mean you guys saw Liam, he's really good, just as good as another kid that was on the team, Brett. Problem was, Brett was the coach's son and a spoilt little daddy's boy." He explained, and Isaac exchanged a bemused look with Scott.

"That sounds familiar." He quipped and Scott smiled a little but said nothing.

"Well, we don't know who was behind it, but first game of the season, Liam pulled off this amazing run, blazed up the field like his ass was on fire and won the match by scoring in the final five seconds, the other team couldn't stop him. But all of a sudden the coach told him he was benched for the rest of the season." Garrett explained, wincing as he remembered the vicious, snarling angry texts he had received from Liam after that had happened.

"What, he was benched for being good?" Kira asked as she appeared from nowhere, and Garrett nodded.

"Yep, I mean it was cruel, Liam was a hero, and from what Liam said even Brett, this guy who he had a kind of intense rivalry going on with, was really proud of him, congratulating him and talking to him like an equal instead of something on the bottom of the shoe. They were all getting on, and suddenly the coach grabs Liam aside and tells him he's benched from now on for being a glory hog. The team all went nuts but he was insistent, telling them that Liam deserved it for taking the glory for himself even though he'd earned it and wasn't pissing it in their faces. He told Liam that he was benched and as long as he was coach, he would never play again." Garrett recounted, his face grim, and Mason then stepped in.

"See, the lacrosse, it actually helps with his IED, it lets him vent his frustration without it being all violent and potentially dangerous. But without the lacrosse, Liam just snapped. He felt pissed, and betrayed, and even though the entire team was batting for him, Liam snapped and lost it, beat the crap out of Brett's dad's car, cost about five grand to fix all the dings, and trust me it was an expensive car, the guy had everything. The head had no choice but to kick him out, it's how he came here."

Garrett nodded, smiling at Scott.

"He was our best friend even before he came here, but because he was at a different school, we could never do much to help him control his temper. Even when we were with him, usually all I was able to do was pull him off after he started swinging and most of the time I couldn't even do that. Mason just, well, he sucks." He said with a grin making the taller boy scowl at him before he turned to Scott.

"But you just defused Liam, you kept him calm, he didn't start swinging or swearing on anything. Impressive. Expect a call next time he's losing his temper." Mason said brightly as the bell rang and he and Garrett ran up the stairs where Liam had bounced up minutes before.

"He looks so little." Ethan said in surprise, shocked by these revelations.

"Well, my amazing boyfriend calmed down the kid he accidentally triggered. Well done," Isaac said, kissing Scott's cheek before he turned back to Ethan, "come on, we've got history, that bloody history teacher will give us lines if we're late." He said with a pointed grin at Kira, who smiled sweetly and gave him the finger as he vanished with his twin bodyguard.

"And...free period! What class have you got?" Aiden asked innocently, and Scott grinned in amusement.

"Aiden, I don't need a bodyguard in school, go and relax in the library or do work or something." Scott told his beta as he and a nervous Stiles headed for the stairs for their English lesson.

"I can do other stuff." Aiden offered, the filthy look he was giving Stiles more than enough to demonstrate what other options he was thinking of.

"No. Stay. Don't make me go Alpha on you. Just relax, I don't need a bodyguard here. I'll see you when we finish ok?" he asked as they walked away from the grumpy former Alpha.

"Um...are you two going to be frosty all period?" Kira asked nervously in between Scott and Stiles, as Scott hadn't even registered the fact that his best friend was there.

Scott didn't answer but shot Stiles a hurt look and moved a little quicker, making Stiles sag a little in defeat, and Kira clipped him in the ear.

"This is all your fault! So help me..." she growled, hurrying to catch up with her Alpha, a guilty and ashamed Stiles right behind her.

XX

"Hmm, there's no motive. Either way, they were intruders in his home, he's more than entitled to defend himself if he felt threatened, even if he did use excessive force in dealing with them. There's something I'm not getting here, true four people are dead but guns, they clearly went there for a pleasant chat, they were there to harm him. Why on earth hasn't that been considered?" Allegra asked herself, sipping her tea as she read the notes that John had given her.

She mused as she considered Derek's file, looking at the report on the Hale Arson. Something was off with all of this, very strange. While John and the hot young deputy (she made a mental note to ask the boy's opinion on him later, after all, their taste was clearly good but she had to check it wasn't a fluke) had arrested Derek, they hadn't had much choice and by the looks of things from John's report, that had been as much about protecting Derek as anything else. Since then, due to their closeness to the case, Haigh, the slightly older deputy, had largely taken over, and seemed particularly determined to convict Derek, but why?

She looked at the personnel files John had also slipped her while Charles kept a lookout, saying he knew they wouldn't be misused. Haigh...well that was interesting.

She was cut off from her musings and cross referencing as a phone buzzed on the small coffee table behind her. Cursing she crossed over and rolled her eyes.

"Get a phone mom, it'll be a good thing mom, she tells me, then she forgets her own bloody phone, which is of course the same sort of phone I've got. Whose is whose now? Silly new fangled thing, what happened to phones with buttons? Oh hang on, one single button..." she said, picking up the flashing iphone and pressing the button, and as she read the text that appeared on the screen, her eyes went wide.

"Well!" she exclaimed in shock, a delighted and evil grin appearing on her face.

XX

"That was Lydia, she's been around all her neighbours, scoured her mother's QVC orders, called three successive delivery companies, no one knows how you got there, no one saw anything." Danny explained as he came back into the room where Jackson was being seen to by the only nurse they could trust in this situation, Melissa.

Jackson winced as Melissa took his arm, her face concerned and touch gentle as she examined him.

"How the hell can no one notice a massive person containing crate getting delivered?" Jackson demanded angrily, and Melissa shook her head, looking at Jackson worriedly.

"Are you sure you should even be out? After all, whoever did that to you, they meant business, coming here might not have been the best idea. Not that I'm not glad you're back, my dinner conversations have been very dull without Scott bitching about you." She told him fondly, and Jackson went a little red, then used his good hand to point at Danny.

"I told him that, but he wouldn't listen. I think it was just a cover so he could get you to check his nose, but still, he dragged me here and since I'm kind of scrawny and he's the one who's giving me clothes, food and a bed, I felt like I owed him." He complained, but she could hear the genuine gratitude in his voice even though he'd never admit it.

"Well excuse me for wanting to make sure my formerly missing best friend is alright." Danny retorted, peeved but he saw Jackson's slight smile and grinned too.

"Well, as far as I can see, you're going to be alright. Obviously you're now underweight, malnourished, and weak but give that a few weeks and when the wolfsbane is gone from your system you'll be back to normal. But your arm...Jackson that isn't something human." Melissa told him worriedly as Jackson pulled the red pullover hoody Danny had given him back over his bare chest, his hair still lank and unkempt.

"So, I'll get back to normal?" Jackson asked, looking in the small mirror with an expression of loathing, and Melissa smiled a little, yeah it wasn't funny, but seriously this kid was so vain, for someone to be good looking and worse knowing that he was, to have lost so much weight, to look so weak and dirty and maltreated had to be quite the comedown.

"Eventually yes, I don't know how much being a wolf will help but, take it easy, don't be in a hurry or you might make things worse. But Jackson, I have no idea what's wrong with your arm." she said worriedly, and Jackson rubbed it self-consciously.

"Deaton?" Danny asked in distaste and Melissa's nostrils flared, but she nodded.

"Deaton." She said grimly, Jackson looking between them in interest but explanations would need to wait as Melissa had fixed her beady eyes on Danny, and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"So, why do I need to look at your nose? Have you been fighting?" she asked sharply, and he squirmed guiltily.

"Um, kind of. We were sort of attacked." He admitted quietly, not meeting her eyes, which flashed in annoyance.

"We? As in the pack? I'll kill them!" she vowed angrily, and Jackson winced, clearly Scott and Isaac hadn't told her about being attacked by the woman who had ambushed them.

"Scott and Isaac didn't tell you?" Danny demanded anxiously, looking very guilty that he had just dropped them in it.

"Tell me what exactly?" Melissa asked, and he shifted nervously.

"We were attacked last night by some old woman." He admitted feebly, and Jackson looked at him in shock.

"You got your asses kicked by a woman? An old one?" he repeated in disbelief, and Danny scowled at him.

"Obviously she wasn't a normal old woman, she was a creature, we just don't know what." He replied irritably as Melissa gave him the once over.

"Could she be the one who did that to Jackson?" she asked, watching as Jackson stroked his arm worriedly, and Jackson looked hopefully at Danny, but as Melissa tenderly touched his nose, Danny shook his head.

"I don't think so, no. She seemed more focused on getting to Lydia than anything else." He said, and Melissa sighed wearily.

"Great, so there's two fresh hells in town." She complained bitterly as someone knocked on the door as she passed Danny, though her reproving look made it clear he wasn't to do anything dangerous again, which he bowed his head in response to as her mother walked into the room.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" she asked, immediately sensing that the smile her mother had on her face wasn't good for anyone.

"I came to visit. Hello Danny dear." She said fondly, and he smiled at her.

"Hi Mrs Delgado." He said brightly and she turned her eyes to Jackson.

"Hello." He said hopefully and she gave him a searching, concerned look.

"You don't look well son." She said worriedly, and Melissa, scenting danger, interceded before her mother found out anything she shouldn't.

"Well that's why he's here, it's a hospital after all. This is Jackson mom." She told her and Allegra's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh Jackson, yes, I've heard of you." She said, and her tone made it clear it was nothing good.

"So why are you here?" Melissa asked, and Allegra shrugged, trying and failing to look innocent.

"Can't a mother visit her daughter at work? You left your phone in the house, I'm bringing it to you. Very interesting reading it makes too." She said idly, and Melissa suddenly tensed as she took her phone from her mother.

Her mother's happiness...oh no.

"Oh no what did you see?" she demanded in a panic and Allegra started to laugh.

"Well, something that could be described as racy, my dear Melissa, keeping secrets from your mother, terrible thing, you know, about a certain red and flimsy piece of clothing. I was shocked and appalled to read such a thing on your phone." She teased, and Danny and Jackson were looking at a now scarlet Melissa, who had her head bowed in shame, wishing she could vanish.

"Mother, be quiet, state secrets and all that!" she hissed and Allegra's eyes widened.

"Ah, the boys don't know do they? Well my dear, I'm sure you have your reasons, but I'm afraid my silence has a price. Particularly about the thing more suited to dirty clubs." She teased mercilessly, and Melissa glowered at her ecstatic mother, her face beetroot red.

"You're an evil woman, seriously evil. Alright, deal. Just, keep quiet." She begged and Allegra smiled.

"I'm sure I don't know why you're keeping it from the boys, but I have to say I am proud of you. A vast improvement over the last stinker, he only ever did one thing right." She said sniffily, and despite herself, Melissa smiled, pleased that her mother had approved of John, she hadn't approved of Rafe and had made no secret about it, and would have said 'I told you so' when the marriage fell apart had she not been more concerned with making sure she got through it.

Melissa opened the text and went scarlet, seeing what her mother had seen, hearing her mother chuckle evilly.

"My silence shall require three bottles of the wine I like and let's see, five packets of my biscuits that I can't get at home for some reason. Savvy?" Allegra asked cheerfully, and Melissa gave a small grunt and nodded reluctantly.

"Fine." She bit out, supremely annoyed she had gotten herself into this mess.

"Seriously, the boys don't know?" Allegra asked, now sounding slightly concerned and Melissa grinned.

"Isaac and Malia know, we're all curious to see how long it'll take them to figure it out on their own." She said, and Allegra's eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh I see. I love my grandson to bits, but he is a bit oblivious bless him. Good for you dear. Make sure you don't leave lipstick on his dipstick." Allegra advised as she hugged her daughter, who spluttered in shock at what her mother had just said, and Allegra gave her and the boys a cheery wave, leaving her daughter wishing she had a noose to hang herself.

Jackson looked at Danny curiously as a shocked Melissa staggered weakly from the room.

"What was all that about?"

XX

Liam was good. Amazingly good, and if Scott hadn't been a werewolf, the kid would be wiping the floor with him.

"How is that even possible?" Aiden watched as he and Kira passed the ball to each other with their sticks, and Kira was smiling as she looked at the slightly younger kid.

"He's just that good. Are you ok? Scott told me about you and Lydia." She asked kindly, and he scowled.

"Oh, I'm great having been dumped without so much as a reason on the same day her ex boyfriend gets delivered to her in a box. Yeah I'm thrilled." He growled, hurtling the ball back towards Kira with such force that when she caught it, the momentum knocked her to the ground with a loud thud.

"Oh sorry." Aiden said sheepishly, noticing Scott finally saved a shot Liam had sent his way because the kid was looking worriedly at Kira.

"Want me to kick her ass for you?" she asked as he pulled her to her feet and he grinned.

"No it's fine. Do I need to kick Stiles still?" he asked hopefully, and she shrugged.

"I don't know, I don't think so. I think he's been trying to make it up to Scott all day, but with you and Isaac floating around and out for his blood, he's not gotten close, he kept trying to talk to him in science but Scott ignored him. If he doesn't by the time Scott leaves, then you kick his ass." She said brightly, and he grinned, and Kira sent him a concerned look, as she didn't know if he was more excited to see Stiles grovel or to kick his ass.

"Want to try some suicide runs?" Liam asked hopefully, and Scott grinned.

"How about we get Kira and Aiden to help? Where are Mason and Garrett anyway?" he asked, figuring he could probably get a fair bit of his time to play since they were here.

It was just the four of them at the moment, school was out, homework was assigned, Malia was raging about maths, and other than him having not talked to Stiles all day, everything was mostly alright.

"Garrett's with Isaac and Ethan, they're swimming." Liam explained, and Scott's mind briefly misted over as he thought of his boyfriend, now the captain of the swim team, climbing out of the pool, dripping wet, drops of water running down his gorgeous body, slicking his hair back with water...

"Scott?" Liam asked worriedly, looking at the glazed look on Scott's face and Scott came back to himself, cheeks tinged with embarrassment.

"Sorry...um, where did you say Mason was?" he asked, hoping that Liam wouldn't notice his lacrosse shorts were now bulging slightly.

"He works at the doctors after school, he's an assistant nurse thing." He said in confusion, not really understanding it but Scott accepted that answer.

And besides, he actually liked spending time with Liam. He was competitive, funny, but the way he looked at Scott...it was kind of like how Isaac used to look at him. Sure he still looked at him like that, but nowadays, the looks were a lot more playful and lustful and usually wound up with both of them naked. Liam was looking at Scott like he was a hero, and he had to admit, it felt good.

And he also enjoyed talking to him too, giving him tips, warning him about certain things in the school, like who not to pick a fight with. It was just, instinctive, and while he didn't know what it was, he did seriously like it, it was like...like having a baby brother.

It was nice, it was new, and it was fun. And besides, he did want to see just how good the kid was, otherwise he might not be captain for long. Mind you, he did hope he would take being co-captain a lot better than Jackson ever had if it came to that.

"Hey guys, come over here, let's try a little game, me and Liam against you two." Scott ordered and Aiden was at his side in an instant, Kira a little behind him, sharing an amused look with Scott.

Bless him, ever since he'd been officially let into the pack and had recovered from his near death, he had basically been Scott's bodyguard, and while at times, Scott certainly appreciated having him as a bodyguard, there were times when he didn't. But by and large, he didn't mind, and kind of liked that Aiden was so loyal to him, and so protective of him, and so eager to please.

Actually, was it his imagination or was everyone now starting to share the same characteristics?

"Two on two, see if you can get past us." Scott ordered and Aiden grinned at Kira.

"Reckon we can take them?" he asked, and she winked at him.

"Definitely." She said boldly, smiling as she got a ball and pulled on her helmet.

Over at the car park, Mr Yukimura and Mrs Martin were heading towards the car.

"Natalie, do you know when the first lacrosse match is?" he asked hopefully, and Natalie frowned, trying to remember.

"Three weeks I think why?" she asked, and she saw him looking over at the field where Kira was doing her best to get around Scott as they practiced.

"No reason." He said innocently, and Natalie considered if she should tell Ken that his daughter wouldn't appreciate him doing anything embarrassing at her first game. But, she thought with a smile, high school was a transition, and she embarrassed Lydia all the time, why should Kira be spared?

"I see." She said in amusement, and he made a small gesture of victory as Kira dodged around Liam and sent the ball rocketing into the net.

"That's my daughter out there." He said proudly, and Natalie rolled her eyes in amusement as she steered him towards his car.

Kira was like a dancer on the field, and Scott was beginning to feel slightly threatened, between Liam and her, he was definitely going to be in for a run for his money. She pirouetted around him, rolled to the ground and threw the ball to Aiden, who jumped into the air and caught it, before avoiding Liam and casting the ball into the net, giving Scott and Liam a gloating smile as he did so.

"Show off." Scott complained without venom, not noticing the odd look on Liam's face as Kira high fived her partner.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go, I've got an idea." Liam whispered, and Scott inclined his head to the slightly shorter boy, and grinned evilly when he heard the plan.

That could work.

Scott hoisted the ball into his net and ran to the left, and as expected both Kira and Aiden started to head towards him before Aiden started to slow up, clearly figuring out what his plan was. Scott then twirled, sending the ball hurtling through the air and Liam sprang, catching the ball and making a beeline straight for their unprotected net, scoring with ease and waving at the other two happily while Scott whistled appreciatively.

"Oh, it's on." Aiden vowed, slightly vexed that they had fallen for that and they got ready to go again.

Kira threw the ball into the air, and Aiden and Scott ran for it, Scott using his slightly smaller frame to his advantage and jetting into the air, catching the ball and sending it straight to Liam. Liam caught it deftly, running towards the goal when Kira appeared from nowhere, blocking him and Liam slowed a little, trying to find a way around her, but she was good, everywhere he went, she went too. She was smiling at him, and he grinned nervously back before he completely threw her by throwing the ball to Scott, and he smiled a little as she looked completely confused by what he had done, as Scott caught it, dodged Aiden and stuck the ball in the net.

"We're a pretty good team." Scott commented, clapping Liam on the shoulder, and he nodded excitedly as they got ready for another run.

Kira once again flipped the ball into the air, and Liam and Aiden both went for it. But as Kira tracked the balls progress, she saw what was about to happen a second before it did. Aiden was taller, and he was leaning back slightly as he stretched to get the ball. Liam tripped a little, stumbling and caught a stretching Aiden in the stomach. Aiden wheezed as Liam hit him, Liam using his stick to keep from falling but Aiden thudded to the ground with a grunt.

Kira winced as he landed, Liam looking mortified and offering Aiden a hand to help him up, apologising, but before Aiden could say anything, Kira's blood froze as she heard a deep, threatening growl, and her eyes flashed orange as she looked in alarm at Scott.

He was growling, his eyes glowing crimson, and looking as if he was about to pounce on Liam.

Oh...dear.

"I'm sorry, I tripped." Liam said, offering Aiden his hand, but he too felt the growl of his Alpha and roughly shoved Liam out of the way, Kira hurrying towards him as Scott made a move towards Liam.

The other two caught him just in time, Liam looking in shock as Aiden and Kira grabbed Scott under the arms and started shoving him back towards the changing room, Scott still growling, teeth gnashing as his two betas stopped him from springing on Liam who was looking at Scott, shaking a little in fear as the other two tackled him and drove him back towards the locker room.

XX

"Told you I'd beat you." Isaac boasted as he sat on the edge of the pool, flicking water with his toe at Ethan, who smirked and flicked water back as he treaded water.

"You know, you're lucky you're Scott's boyfriend, or I'd drag you back in here and teach you a lesson." He told him and Isaac grinned maddeningly, stroking one hand through his wet hair, slicking it back as Garrett popped up from underwater beside Ethan, wiping water from his eyes and swiping his wet blond hair from his face.

"Did you guys see Emily?" he asked with a grin, and Isaac slipped back into the water, shaking his head.

"Um, you do realise I'm dating Scott and Ethan's," he began, but seeing the sad look on Ethan's face he corrected himself, "gay too? I mean she's nice and all, and yeah she's hot, but if you're looking for guys to help you measure girls with, we're not your sorts." He said in amusement and Garrett shrugged.

"I know that, but you at least like girls too right? And besides, I can't do it with Liam, he's too shy, and always mutters something about how he doesn't think it's right that I rate girls based on hotness." He said, and Ethan looked at him in confusion.

"Um, is that all you do to decide who you're going to sleep with?" he asked, and Garrett shook his head.

"No! They need to be nice too, but, well, I like making sure they're hot to go with it." He said with a grin, and Isaac shook his head, smiling in amusement.

"Girls are lucky to have you." He told him, and Garrett grinned proudly.

"Don't I know it?" he asked, but they could both tell he wasn't serious, but they both splashed water at him anyway.

"Hey, easy!" Garrett protested with a laugh, Ethan looking a little too interested in the hot guy wearing only swim shorts beside them when Isaac went still, other than poking Ethan hard on his bare shoulder.

"Ow!" he complained, but then stopped and heard it too.

Scott snarling and roaring, echoing through the school.

"Scott. Um, Garrett, can you get the others all squared away, we need to go." Isaac told the younger blond boy and pulled himself out of the pool, Ethan right behind him, both of them grabbing their towels as they left, and Garrett looked at their retreating backs in confusion at their abrupt departure.

"Um, sure." He said, not really having much of a choice and swam over to save Levi from Caleb who was beating him on the head with a foam float.

XX

Aiden and Kira had finally got Scott into the changing room, poor Liam standing looking hurt and dejected out on the field behind them as Kira slammed the door shut with her foot.

"Scott, calm down! Why's he like this?" she asked, using all her might to shove him backwards towards the showers, which seemed to be where Aiden was steering him.

"Ethan and I wondered, we thought he might not get them since he's a true Alpha...Scott...get back!" Aiden growled, his own eyes glowing blue as he struggled with his incoherent Alpha who was snarling, claws extended, eyes glowing crimson.

"What?" Kira asked as Scott roared in challenge at the two of them.

It was like nothing they had ever felt before, his roar thundering in both their ears, and Kira was sure she heard Aiden give an apologetic whimper before he snarled back and shoved Scott into the showers, still struggling to get out and get to Liam.

Aiden snarled in annoyance and struck by sudden inspiration, he grabbed the bottom of Scott's lacrosse top and pulled it up and over his head, trapping his head in the darkness. With a final tug, Aiden pulled his top off and slammed his shoulder into Scott, sending his now shirtless body into the wall, his back hammering the button to turn the shower on, and Scott let out a snarl of surprise as cold water cascaded down on his head. Scott let out a halfhearted growl as Aiden snarled, taking Scott's bare shoulders and forcing him to sit under the downpour of cold water, his hands getting wet as the water ran all over Scott's bare chest, growling a little as he held Scott in place.

"Aiden? What the hell was that?" Scott asked in terror, his voice quaking as he looked up in fear at his beta, who sighed in relief and stepped back, drying his hands on a towel Kira had just swiped from Greenberg's bag.

"Good question! You looked like you wanted to kill poor Liam!" Kira cried, pointing at the closed door to the outside, and Aiden crouched down before his soaking, shirtless Alpha, whose big brown eyes looked on the verge of tears.

"It's because he's the Alpha. Ethan and I meant to talk to you about it but we thought because you were a true Alpha you might not get it. It's, think of it like this. If someone hurts Isaac, you want to kill them right?" he asked, Scott's brown eyes focused on his and Scott nodded feebly.

"Yeah, but I wouldn't actually do it! At least I don't think I would." He said nervously, and Aiden shrugged.

"We know you wouldn't. But your wolf might. You're the Alpha, in charge of an entire pack right? You need to protect them. You knew Liam didn't mean to knock me on my ass, but the wolf inside you is more primal than you are, and not as reasonable. See, he's not pack. He's basically an outsider, at least to the wolf inside you. So when he knocked me down, the wolf inside you saw it as an attack on a pack member, so your wolf wanted to react violently, by making the attacker pay, either by hurting them or turning them. Your wolf took over, and saw Liam as a threat, that's why you wanted to hurt him. But, because you like Liam, it's acting as a restraint on your wolf, so rather than kill, which for instance would be your default setting if someone hurt Isaac, because you like him, you were going to bite Liam. It's a basic need for all Alpha's, to bite, to expand their pack, to get stronger. You have betas sure, but we're all defectors from other packs, you want one of your own. So, because you like Liam and because he accidentally hurt me, you saw him as the perfect person to bite and make a wolf." Aiden explained, and Scott looked at him worriedly.

"But I would never bite anyone willingly!" he protested, and Aiden nodded.

"I know you wouldn't, but you reacted instinctively. You were trying to protect me," he said, sounding slightly pleased, "and your wolf got away from you."

Scott nodded, the water having stopped, still dripping wet and looking miserable.

"Is Liam ok?" he asked urgently, looking at Kira.

"Yeah, we stopped you before you hurt him. I'll go check on him." She volunteered, leaving her soaking Alpha with his maddeningly calm beta.

"You ok now?" Aiden asked hopefully, running his hand through his spiky hair tiredly, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah. I've never felt anything like that, I just...I wanted to hurt him, to bite him. I'd never do it, but I couldn't control it. I needed to bite him." Scott whispered softly, and Aiden clapped his wrist lightly.

"It'll be better next time, it just took you by surprise that's all." He assured him, and Scott looked at him in alarm.

"Next time? There can't be a next time!" he protested, and Aiden cursed his choice of words.

"What I mean is, the longer you hang around with Liam, the more your wolf will accept him. Eventually it'll dismiss him as not a threat, like it's done with Stiles, but until then, you just need to be careful." He explained, and Scott pouted.

"So, I'll want to keep hurting Liam?" he moaned, and Aiden gave him an apologetic look.

"Until your wolf gets used to him, yeah. And since they're his friends, the same probably goes for Mason and Garrett too." He admitted, and Scott groaned.

"Wonderful." He whined, sounding so sad and scared, and Aiden fervently wished he had someone much better qualified than him to deal with this.

Outside, Kira saw Liam walking slowly and miserably off the field, his head bowed, and she had to run to catch up with him.

"Hey, Liam, wait!" she gasped, running up beside him, and he turned to face her.

"Hey Kira." He said miserably, and as she got her breath back, she looked at him, and decided he shouldn't pout, because all of a sudden she had a very strange urge to cuddle him.

"Where you going?" she asked, for want of something to say, because how could she explain Scott trying to kill him a second ago?

"Home. Out of Scott's way." He said sadly, but she shook her head.

"No don't go. Scott..." she had it, and she had to say, she was quite proud of herself for thinking of it, "he's got something a little like you, like your IED. Sometimes it gets a bit too much for him. That's all that happened." She explained, and Liam looked at her miserably.

"He hates me doesn't he?" he asked, but Kira shook her head fervently, no, quite the opposite.

"Of course he doesn't, why would you think that?" she asked and Liam shrugged.

"Well I messed up, I hurt Aiden, we were having fun and I ruined it, just like I do everything." He muttered sadly, and Kira took his arm and rubbed it soothingly, his sad eyes brightening up a little as she did it.

"Hey, enough of that. It was an accident, that's all. Scott doesn't hate you, if anything he hates himself for losing control like that. This wasn't your fault ok? It was an accident. And besides, he'll literally kill me if I let you go, he wants to apologise. You don't need to be sorry for anything ok? It wasn't your fault, he just lost it. Just like you do sometimes." She said with a slight smile, and she counted it as a win when she got a half smile.

"Yeah I can relate. So everything's good?" he asked hopefully, and she nodded.

"Yeah. Well, it will be when he's grovelled." She said in amusement and he laughed a little.

"Thanks Kira. Hey, if Scott is coming back out, do you want to shoot a few goals without him? Just us?" he asked hopefully, his eyes bright.

"Oh, sure! I'd love to, hang on, where's my helmet...and stick..." she mused and Liam grinned as he watched her dark hair glinting in the wintery sunlight.

Scott didn't hate him, he hadn't ruined everything like he usually did, he was on the team and he was practicing with a girl he liked. He blushed a little as she smiled happily at him, having found her stick and helmet and was ready to play.

He smiled shyly at her, pulled on his helmet and headed over to her side and for the first time since he started here, he stopped missing his old school, and as she smiled at him happily, he smiled back, feeling at home for the first time.

**And there's another chapter down!**

**I love Liam, he's so cute, I want to keep him and make sure no one mean hurts him, I still miss Isaac in the show though. As you can see, Garrett isnt an assassin in this version (I dont know if I mentioned but I'm kind of bummed they killed him, hot looks notwithstanding he had potential) and is just a player whos friends with Liam and Mason. I hope I did Liam justice, what do you think? Speaking of Liam, that scene where he was looking up at Kira before she threw herself down the stairs got me thinking that he might have a little crush on her hence why he likes her in this  
**

**Poor Melissa, blackmailed by her own mother, John should know better than to send dirty texts, seriously. For those of you worrying about our resident prince of good looks, dont worry, Jackson will be restored to his former well dressed and cleaned up self soon, complete with new hairstyle**

**Just what did Allegra discover when she was going through the files she shouldnt have? **

**And for those of you wondering, there will be grovelling next chapter from both Scott and Stiles, they wont be apart for long**

**I'm hoping next chapter is the last of this episode, but I think it might go to five chapters this time, but well see. Next time though, Satan in a v-neck himself, otherwise known as Peter, will be back and out to cause trouble for all concerned**

**Hope you are enjoying, thank you to all who favourite, follow and those who review, i like waking up to reviews and would love to wake up to more, so please review and let me know how you think im doing, and until the next chapter, see you!**


	10. Episode 2: Silence Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf (or we'd have had better views of Scott being shirtless this week)**

Two-Pack II

Scott was now mostly calm, and dry (he had improvised and had stood under the hand dryers in the bathroom, that was admittedly a major blow about Jackson not being on the team anymore, no easy access to a hair dryer), and now he was making sure he was totally calm by styling his hair again, trying not to let it bother him that he had been willing to rip poor Liam's head off just for accidentally knocking Aiden on his butt. He shuddered as he considered the problem, he loved Aiden, and he had become a firm friend and as a pack member he would do anything for him anyway, but...well that had been bad enough, he dreaded to think about his reaction if Liam had accidentally knocked Isaac or his jerk best friend on their ass.

How was he meant to captain the team if he had this problem? What was he meant to do, he couldn't go on the field like this, not if he risked biting someone on the other team should they tackle one of his side. Aiden assured him that Liam was fine, and by and large it was only really Liam, Mason and Garrett who were in danger, as they were technically in limbo, neither in the pack or out of it, but it still scared him.

The door banged open to reveal a wet haired and leather jacket clad Isaac and Ethan, followed by a frantic Stiles and the three of them crossed to Scott as he washed the gel of his fingers while Aiden rolled his eyes in amusement.

"What, don't think I can handle a pissed Alpha on my own?" he challenged, and Ethan looked at him worriedly, Aiden feeling the alarmed gaze penetrate his chest where he had been stabbed. This had become customary, one night Aiden had cut himself when slicing onions and when he had swore, Ethan had come rushing through and had immediately looked to his chest even though his hand was the thing that was clearly bleeding. It was endearing, and he was his twin, but still, it was slightly annoying.

"What happened?" he asked, apparently satisfied his twin was alright as Stiles hovered nervously in the background and Isaac crossed to his shirtless boyfriend, cupping his face in his hands.

"Are you ok? I heard you, you sounded angry, I was afraid the old Jedi lady with the whip was kicking your ass again." He said worriedly, Scott feeling the last tension leave him as Isaac focused his blue eyes on him, and smiled a little as he looked at his boyfriend's long eyelashes. He nodded and kissed Isaac's nose, then nuzzled him a little, soothing Isaac's agitation, which was subtle, but there.

"I'm fine. I kind of lost control. Liam knocked Aiden on his ass, and the wolf part of me kind of went nuts, saw it as a threat to a pack member. I could have hurt Liam but they got me away, he's fine, he's out playing with Kira." He assured him, and Stiles spoke up quietly from the back.

"Really? You've never had problems like that before, controlling your wolf bit, even if one of us was in trouble." He said, and Scott glowered at him, still stung by his accusation from the previous night.

"Yeah maybe I just needed my best friend to tell me I basically suck at keeping people alive to bring it out." He bit back, and he knew he was being unfair, but he didn't care.

Stiles looked ashamedly at his shoes, and despite being firmly on his side, Isaac still gave him a reproving look. Admittedly though, if he and Stiles fell out, he would be in the middle of it, well not entirely, after all, he lived and slept with Scott so kind of had to go with what he said, but still, he was Stiles friend even if he was a bit annoyed with him.

Aiden felt the frostiness in the air and looked hopelessly at Ethan, who took the initiative.

"I think that's our cue to leave." He said with finality, and Aiden nodded.

"Yeah, I need to make sure Liam isn't destroying Kira's confidence." Aiden agreed, following his brother from the room.

"And Ethan and I need to go and get our stuff, and the rest of our clothes." Isaac admitted, ruffling his damp hair experimentally, and Scott looked at him in playful curiosity.

"Wait, are you telling me you've got nothing on under that jacket?" he asked hopefully, looking at the zipped to the top leather jacket, and Isaac grinned maddeningly.

"I've also not got anything on under these jeans. See you in a bit." He said, kissing him softly, his hand stroking his gelled parting to make it look combed and he left the room, leaving Scott tense again, but the pleasant sort of tense.

Well he was until he saw Stiles standing there, looking at his shoes but clearly not going anywhere, a look of tremendous guilt on his face as he hovered awkwardly. The two of them stood in silence for a minute before Stiles looked up desperately.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out, his eyes looking tortured, but Scott wasn't going to let him off that easily.

Well, he was, because as soon as he apologised he felt a million times better, but he wasn't going to let this go without Stiles grovelling a bit.

"For what?" Scott asked, pretending he didn't know, not looking at Stiles as he sat down, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Stiles grin a little at the familiar grovelling process (last time this had happened was when Stiles had told him Professor McGonagall died in the last book, and Scott had been devastated for months, one at receiving this 'spoiler' and two thinking a character he liked die, he hadn't been happy when he found out the truth, well he kind of was, but not with Stiles) as he sat down beside him.

"For what I said. Malia, you know what she's like, kind of like Derek, kind of a one track mind. I know that doesn't justify what she said..." he began and damn it Scott was hitting him with sad puppy eyes.

"What she said didn't bother me Stiles! I mean, it's Malia, and whether I like it or not, she has a point." He said miserably, and Stiles hesitantly wrapped an arm around Scott's shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze.

"I know buddy. What I mean to say is, don't let what she said get you down, because, well, even though we got our asses kicked, you're still the best Alpha this town has ever had." He said, and while he knew it was only to get in his good books he didn't mind what he said in the slightest.

"But..."

"Hey, I'm not done. I'm sorry about what I said. I...I was scared. I know that doesn't excuse me knocking you like I did, but, after everything we've been through, I thought we were stronger you know, safer? And then this chick, which we still don't know what she is, comes along and nearly kills us all. I thought we were stronger than that. I was afraid that one of us was going to die, and I took it out on you. I mean, Allison's gone, Aiden nearly died because of me-"

"Hey, none of that was your fault! You were possessed. The only thing you get blamed for is kissing Isaac, and that's really just me being a dick because you kissed my boyfriend. Nothing else is your fault." He told him sternly, though with a small smile on his face.

Stiles smiled.

"Yeah I know that. But last night when it seemed like we were going to die again, that someone else we care about was about to die, that you, or Malia, or Lydia, or Isaac, that any of us might die, I, I didn't handle it well. I was frightened, scared. I was afraid that I was going to lose someone, again, and that we'd be powerless to stop it again. And, because I felt powerless, I took it out on you. I know that you would never let us get hurt if you could avoid it, and I know that you still feel guilty that Allison died, I know that. I'm sorry Scott, I should never have blamed you. And, I'm sorry it looked like I was just going along with Malia. I swear, I wasn't just going along with her to get laid, well, we didn't even have sex last night, well not real sex, we played doctors and nurses," he said with a smile gracing his face, "but I wasn't, you know, going along with her just because I sleep with her. I was scared, and took it out on you. I know you're a great Alpha, and that you'll do anything to protect us. And I'm just an ass." He complained, and Scott was rubbing his eyes, and Stiles smiled mockingly.

"Did I make you cry?" he asked, kind of hopeful, he did a good job grovelling if he made him cry.

"No! I'm trying to get the image of you and Malia playing doctors and nurses out of my brain you sick git. And besides," he said, yeah, that image would need to be replaced by him and Isaac doing something very soon, "I know you're still having a tough time and feel powerless. But you're not. You're my best friend you idiot, I'll do anything to protect you ok? Nogitsunes, pissed off coyote girlfriend, anything, you hear me?" Scott asked sternly, smiling as he did it and Stiles nodded and smiled back.

"Got it." He said, and hugged his brother fiercely, both of them grinning.

"Ok, get off, if Isaac comes back and sees this, he might get jealous. Not as bad as you do though." Scott teased, all resentment forgotten and Stiles scuffed his shoe.

"Yeah that was also me being a dick. Sorry about that too, I shouldn't get pissy just because you care about other people, especially Isaac. He's your guy, I'm your brother. He gives you a happy." Stiles teased back, and Scott grinned mercilessly.

"Actually he rarely gives me an actual happy, I do that to him and makes me happy as a result." He bragged cheerfully and Stiles groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Alright, fine, your revenge, now my brain's seared too, happy?" he asked, nudging Scott's bare shoulder with his own as Scott laughed.

"I am now. But I'm still worried about you. Are you ok?" he asked, his brown eyes looking at him in concern, and for a brief moment, Stiles considered telling him everything.

Like the dark thoughts he still had in his head, the mind games he could still play, his increased strength, his accelerated healing, his money problems, his annoyance that Malia couldn't control her claws when they were having sex, his fears that he was tainted...but no. Scott had enough on his plate, and with the way he had acted, he didn't deserve turning to Scott for help. Not right now, if at all.

"Yeah I'm fine. So, what did I miss?" he asked, and Scott grinned.

"Oh not much," he commented innocently, looking in his bag for another top to wear, "Jackson's back." He said conversationally.

"WHAT?" Stiles demanded in shock, and Scott laughed.

XX

The air had certainly cleared, as Stiles and Scott came out together, talking rapidly, and Kira smiled a little as she watched them approach. A now fully dressed Isaac and Ethan had joined them, as had a curious Garrett and Scott was splitting them into teams (while sending Isaac a disappointed look which he only smiled in response to as he was now wearing one of his scarf necked tshirts that so excited him) when he pulled Liam aside, and Kira smiled happily at the younger kid as he edged closer to their Alpha. She'd enjoyed playing with him, just on their own, and he had helped correct her grip, checking her posture and her poise nervously, as though thinking he shouldn't be doing it.

He was sweet, and cute, and she made him happy.

Garrett watched Kira skip towards her team, fresh from her solo session with Liam, smiling slightly proudly as he watched her, and deciding rather than wind him up mercilessly (he'd let Mason do that), he'd just sit and bask in the glory that was his tutoring of Liam on the art of girls.

"I'm sorry." Liam muttered sadly, his head bowed, but Scott took his shoulder, making the younger boy look up at him nervously.

"Hey, don't be. It was an accident, and me, well, I shouldn't have lost it the way I did. I didn't mean to get so angry, least of all at you. You didn't do anything wrong ok? In fact, in a weird way, I don't think I've have gotten so angry if you were doing something wrong." He assured him, and Liam looked at him in confusion.

"Huh? So what, you're mad at me because I'm doing right?" he asked, and Scott shook his head

"No, I'm not still mad at you, I was never mad at you, not really. Basically, what I'm trying to say is, I wouldn't have even gotten mad if I didn't like you so much." He told the younger kid, and it was odd, but the happy expression he put on Liam's face made it all worth it.

"You like me?" Liam asked, slightly shy, but looking quite happy, and Scott grinned.

"Yeah. Now, my little vice captain, see if you can't manage to beat my time since you're so good." Scott challenged, hoisting his stick, and Liam gave him a cocky grin.

"Oh, you're on." He goaded cheerfully, and took his place in front of one goal, Garrett standing as a loyal bodyguard, Ethan behind him having been press ganged into service and Kira slightly behind Liam, looking at ease, goading Scott, Isaac, Stiles and Aiden and the scrimmage began.

XX

"Well, I'm glad to have you aboard Dexio." Deaton said, shaking the young man's hand firmly, and the young man across the operating table from him smiled happily.

"Thank you so much. I won't let you down." He assured him and Deaton nodded, looking at the young man across from him.

What with one thing and another, he had been considering hiring another member of staff for a while, especially as the supernatural was getting completely out of hand due to the nemeton being switched back on. Another vet would mean he could keep an eye on things other than the animals for a change, and would also hopefully get the princess and the pack off his back every time they wanted him to do something.

He suppressed that thought in distaste. He didn't like the pack being so pushy. He wasn't foolish enough to deny that he deserved their distrust and anger, but he had helped them a lot since Scott had become a wolf, and he was getting no thanks at all. He was trying to help Scott, after all, he was the key to the future. Speaking of that he would need to tell Scott about Dexio before Scott tried to sue him for unlawful dismissal, he didn't want Scott going anywhere. He needed him here where he could keep an eye on him, help him, guide him towards his destiny, to do what needed to be done.

All without the princess finding out of course.

He looked at the young man he had just hired. Tall, tanned, with long flowing black hair to his shoulders, he actually looked a little like an older version of Scott. He was basically on his probationary year, and, to be fair, the amount of stuff they had to deal with that was normal around here would be a good grounding for him. It might also mean he could get weekends off, which would be pleasant (he still hadn't watched Lost) so once Dexio was up and running and he'd checked how competent he was, Dexio would basically get a lot more work thrown his way. And besides, if Deaton should ever go anywhere, it would mean that there would be someone to open the clinic for proper consultations (admittedly, Scott did run a popular minor injuries clinic which Isaac (who refused to go anywhere near Deaton for his role in his and Scott's break up) helped out with). Yes Dexio being here would be very useful.

And considering what he was, it wouldn't hurt to have the lad around Beacon Hills, just in case.

Dexio stroked his long black hair behind his ear, smiling.

"Ok great, so, I'll see you tomorrow then." He said, Deaton smiling.

"Yep, and every day after that. I have an actual assistant, Scott, you can meet him too, but I'm sure you two will get along fine." Well, better than he and Scott were getting on at the moment anyway, and Dexio smiled.

"Cool. See you." He said, bidding Deaton goodbye and the tall, well built long haired young man left the building, leaving Deaton to muse on how happy and cheerful, and hopefully easy to work with he seemed. Like Scott used to be with him.

He needed to try and win back Scott's trust, try and get things back to the way they were. Admittedly, him encouraging Scott to break up with Isaac hadn't been particularly inspired, but he hadn't wanted Scott distracted, but he also hadn't wanted him revealed to the world, both of which had happened but Scott still seemed to be going strong.

The problem was there was so little information about true Alphas, the council had seen to that, so he was playing by ear. He knew that true Alpha's received a much greater power boost from their pack than normal ones but that didn't help him understand it any better.

The door rang, jarring him from his thoughts, but rather than his new long haired probationer, it was someone much worse.

It was Princess Melody.

"Princess." He said, not even bothering to put any false cheer into his voice as he bowed, loathing every second of it, but to his surprise, she waved her hand at him patiently, bidding him to stand up.

"Alan. Hmm, who was that?" she asked, looking out the door with curiosity, and he suppressed a grimace, he hadn't wanted her to know about Dexio, couldn't he do anything now without her sticking her nose in?

"My new probationer, he needs to do a year with an actual vet in order to qualify. Besides, I'm fed up of working weekends." He explained, hoping she would go no further.

"You ought to be careful Alan." Melody warned, and his blood froze.

There was no way she could know, as far as he knew even the wolves wouldn't be able to tell what Dexio was, there was no way for them to know...

"How is that?" he asked coolly, praying and she smiled.

"Keep hiring attractive staff like him and Scott and you may be out on your ear by popular demand." She purred, sitting in one of the chairs in the waiting area, and Deaton breathed a silent sigh of relief.

She didn't know what Dexio was, and apparently couldn't tell. While she didn't have a sense of smell nearly as acute as the wolves, he figured he was in the clear if she hadn't twigged.

"What can I do for you princess?" Deaton asked, feeling slightly more civil towards her now he knew Dexio's secret was safe, and she leaned back in her chair.

"I need advice on the pack." She told him, and he narrowed his eyes, if she thought he was going to help her get close to the pack, she could think again.

"Take it from me princess, coming between them doesn't work." He advised her, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to split them up, I just want to know more about them. I know everything you told my mothers from a distance, not that that's very much," she said coolly, her eyes narrowed and he gulped nervously, "but I need to know more. I don't want to harm them, I just need to understand them, that's all. Nothing more." She assured him and he nodded slowly.

"I can help with that. But what are you up to princess?" he asked curiously and she smiled.

"Wouldn't you like to know? I only want to understand them, know them, that's all." She said, but Deaton would be a fool if he believed her, she had another agenda, but what it could be he didn't know. Thankfully the pack had only just gone back to school so she couldn't have done anything too extreme yet, but what she could be up to he couldn't figure out.

"I can give you a brief overview." He said and she nodded.

"Good. Out of interest, have you felt a sort of aura running through the town?" she asked curiously, not meeting his eyes, and he frowned.

Admittedly he had felt something strange, but he had dismissed it, figuring some other creature was passing through town. But now that he closed his eyes, he could feel it, it was still there, a sort of pall over the town.

"Yes, vaguely." He said in concern, and she frowned.

"Any idea what it is?" she asked, and he shook his head, but now he felt it, a sort of dark cloud hovering over the town, he didn't like it, and clearly, Melody didn't either.

"None, it's only just appeared though. I doubt it's much to worry about though." He assured her, and she nodded, then looked at him curiously, a suspicious look on her face.

"Did you know there's a new creature in town?" she asked, and he looked at her with genuine surprise.

To be fair there were all sorts of creatures travelling through the town now, a result of both the nemeton being powered up and Scott announcing himself to the world, but the way she was talking it seemed as if there was a new creature actually staying in town.

"Really? Scott hadn't said." He told her, and she glowered at him.

"If you hadn't bungled and made such a mess of things between him and Isaac then you might have heard it before now." She said tartly and he scowled.

"How did you find out?" he challenged and she shrugged.

"I eavesdropped, how else?" she asked as though it were perfectly natural and he rolled his eyes, he shouldn't be surprised.

"And what did you eavesdrop?" he asked her, and she looked pensive.

"The pack was attacked last night, by what was described as an old Jedi lady with a whip who got younger every time she stole a voice from one of the pack, and seemed particularly determined to kill Lydia." She informed him, and he considered it.

Getting younger could be any kind of thing, particularly if magic was involved, but the fact that it seemed determined to kill Lydia and steal voices made it fairly obvious as to what it could be.

"A Pombero." He concluded, and Melody nodded hesitantly.

"Well that would be my guess. Now, eventually, discretion will come before valour and they will swallow their pride and come and ask you for help. And for a change my dear doctor, you are going to help them." She hissed, and he glared at her.

"I always help them when they ask for it." He told her defiantly, and she laughed coldly.

"Please, you give them guidance then sit back and let them stumble in the dark. Now, I don't know why you do that, I know it isn't to hurt Scott, you do want him alive, and I can make an educated guess why too, but you don't seem willing to help the others. Now, my interest is in Scott, same as yours, but unlike you, I value the rest of the pack too as they tie into Scott's power. So dear doctor, when they eventually swallow their pride, you will tell them everything they need to know for a change, am I perfectly clear?" she hissed angrily, and Deaton glowered.

"Of course princess. Is there anything else you require of me?" he asked, trying to keep polite, and she favoured him with an irritated look.

"Nothing that I can think of. However Deaton, remember your place, you do as we say, and if I find you are advancing your own agenda in any way, then I'll kill you." She warned and with a final look of contempt, she swept from the building, Deaton steaming in rage at being talked to in such a way behind her.

XX

Agravaine looked across the graveyard, his very presence here strengthening him. He could feel it, the graveyard, the death, and more, he could feel the power of the nemeton, the corruption beginning to take hold and sending unseen ripples throughout the entire town. He had well and truly moved in.

Thane appeared beside him, his tall hulking brute of a second in command smiling grimly as they watched the rest of the pack at work.

"We've got everyone we need, even the one for Jackson. Do you really think he will bother him?" he asked curiously, and Agravaine gave him a cold smile.

"Yes. After all, he was very talkative in the time he was with us. Long after you and Malakai got bored of playing with your new toy, I was finding out each and every single thing I could about him. Yes it will work. It will work for all of them." He assured Thane, and he grinned, his blackened, sharpened teeth looking menacing in the shade of the graveyard.

"Good. Bonnie got everything we needed. But she is worried that doing it will put us in danger." He told his friend, sounding amused, and Agravaine chuckled.

"Bless her. But she always has been our conscience my old friend," he said in amusement, clapping Thane's bulging shoulder and giving it a squeeze, "allow her her foibles. Besides, her concerns are irrelevant. Did we find what we were looking for?" he asked curiously, and Thane nodded, his eyes glinting with malice.

"Yes, you were right, there is a gravesite here. You have to wonder why these people can't just bury them in the back garden like everybody else." He mused, and Agravaine had to admit, he had a point.

"Well, the oddities of the locals aside, do we have what we need?" he asked, and Thane nodded.

"Yeah, I've got enough, they just need us to do our bit with them. But you should know, a dog was killed last night in an attack that killed two young men, they were ripped apart by talons. He followed us here." Thane warned, and Agravaine nodded, a small, soft smile playing on his face as he watched Malakai and Rhyley, both of them shirtless, covered in mud as they went about their task, his eyes lingering on Malakai as they worked.

"We knew he would. It doesn't matter, we both know he's nothing compared to us." He hissed venomously, and Thane looked around, making sure the others were all otherwise engaged before he leaned closer to the leader of the pack.

"Yes but we're running out of time, eventually the others will notice you getting weaker." He whispered urgently, fear flooding his voice and Agravaine gave a low, guttural growl.

"You overstep yourself Thane. Besides, I will not fall for I shall rise! Hollis will die here in Beacon Hills, and when that happy time comes about, we shall be forever free of that annoying thorn in our side known as the Owlman! Beacon Hills will be his grave, and for the record, never question my ability to defeat that annoying gnat again." He growled murderously, and Thane backed off, looking worried and slightly bothered, so Agravaine laid his hand on his shoulder.

"Thane, he is nothing compared to me. I am more than capable of defeating him. I won't die." He promised, and Thane sighed wearily.

"I know you can destroy him, but..." he began, words failing him and Agravaine chuckled.

"My dear Thane, there is no but. Hollis will die here, and I will remain, and then, the world is our oyster. Now, are you sure we have enough to do what needs to be done?" he asked, moving on and trying to take his second in command's mind off of what was bothering him, and Thane nodded, the dark light of malice in his eyes again.

"Yes, and Bonnie is going to the vet's later to get more information. They just wait for our pleasure." He assured him and Agravaine nodded, pleased.

After all, it was so hard to find friends when one was away from home, so what better way was there than to create new ones?

Thane looked at where the others were all working, and looked thoughtfully out at them all.

"Are you sure this is wise? I mean, I support this whole heartedly, but what we plan to do after they're distracted? It could blow up in our faces." He warned, and Agravaine chuckled.

"You worry too much Thane. You fear they'll come after us, and ordinarily I would agree. But you forget our greatest weapon, secrecy. No one knows we are here, yet, and by the time our little Alpha pup discovers us, it'll be too late, and they will be more focused on the pack than us. After all, why would they focus on us, who are new to town, when there's the pack of the first true Alpha in a millennium in the town?" he asked darkly, his eyes flashing a sickly yellow.

"I told Bonnie that," he said, sounding smug, "you realise Scott will eventually look for answers?" he asked, and Agravaine smiled.

"My dear Thane, I look forward to it. I think it's time we introduce ourselves to the little Alpha pup, don't you? And for that, we shall need our special guest stars." He purred, looking at what the pack was doing proudly, and Thane nodded excitedly, his eyes flashing blank, shining emotionless white.

"With pleasure." He muttered in a low growl, getting on all fours and heading for a grave with a white marble headstone, and Agravaine looked on in sadistic excitement as he watched his pack work while Bonnie looked at what the others were doing with a look of slight disgust on her face as the putrid smells assaulted her nostrils.

XX

Visits were about all that Derek lived for nowadays, well, rather than unexpected assassination attempts against him. Being the only prisoner in solitary (though several times he had gotten a whiff of someone else in solitary, but had never found out where it was coming from or who it came from) he had to be escorted to and from the visitor room, and at separate times from everybody else in the prison. He sat there, mulling things over in his head, figuring it was probably best that he was kept separate from the rest of the prison population. After all, he was a werewolf sure but against what was now an entire clan of hunters who were blaming him for the deaths of four of their own, and since she hadn't been seen in months, most likely the death of their leader Araya as well.

The entire thing was still praying on his mind. He knew Scott believed that he hadn't done it, and by and large the pack also believed that, but how could he himself be sure? His memories of the entire night when it had happened had disappeared. As a result he had spent many hours with psychologists, including Marin Morrell who he had found a lot more helpful than all the other psychologists simply because she knew about the supernatural, all of them poking at him, asking him questions, if he ever saw another ink blot card in his life it would be too soon. It was a pity, he used to like Watchmen, now he wouldn't be able to watch Rorschach at all anymore. All of them trying to unlock hidden memories, reveal to him his past (why they all wanted to go back to his childhood was beyond him, when Morrell had shown up it had been a pleasant change as she had gotten right to business), but none of them, not even Morrell, were of any use in figuring out what the hell was going on. Scott had reluctantly helped her in one session, trying to extract the memories form Derek's mind but had gotten nowhere, as the memories literally weren't there to be taken. This of course had led to Morrell and her missionary apprentice, Braeden (he must remember to explain to Scott the difference between the two next time he visited) beginning a hunt for answers which had still not progressed any further. On the plus side, he did like seeing Braeden when she came to visit, so at least there was one advantage to all this.

But while he did welcome the visits of Braeden, the visits of the various officers were an entirely different story. Although both Stillinski and Parish were doing all they could to get him out of this mess, the long process meant that they could do little to help him out of this situation, and do to their connection with Stiles and by extension him, they also couldn't direct the case. While the two of them did admit that any reasonable judge would declare that even if he had killed them it would have been in self defence, the fact that Haigh, who was now the officer in charge of the case, was prosecuting it with such wanton venom that it seemed unlikely he would ever get that far, and was arguing that Derek, who of course had no memory of the event, had killed them in something other than self defence and was hence arguing that he be tried for four counts of murder, which if he could get away with he would also try and bring in the implications of Araya's disappearance. As such, the odds were pretty stacked against him and he was trapped in here, unable to help Scott, unable to do anything except sit in his cell staring at the ceiling all day wondering how the hell he was going to clear his name and what the hell had happened to his memories.

Mikaela opened the door, giving Derek a friendly nod, and at her heels was Braeden, who smiled at him as she sat down at the table, Mikaela standing outside the door as she always did to give them some privacy.

"What have I missed?" he asked, and once she checked to make sure Mikaela was elsewhere, she launched into an explanation.

"There's a new creature in town, it attacked the pack and was trying it's hardest to kill Lydia. Marin is investigating, but without having actually seen it, there's not much she can do to identify it yet." She explained grimly, and Derek sighed.

"Great. And I'm stuck in here. What the hell is taking them so long, surely Haigh has enough of a case to get me to trial now?" he asked her, peeved and she gave him a grim smile.

"Well you would think so wouldn't you? He nearly does have enough he's just waiting for a few more test results to come back and then he's going to hand you over to a judge. But if you ask me, all this is a bit extreme, particularly when any reasonable judge will most likely argue that it was self defence. Either way, it's you not being able to remember anything that's causing the problems, it makes anything you say potentially inadmissible in court." She said worriedly, and he sighed in frustration.

This was driving him insane. Yeah he'd been arrested before (no thanks to Scott and Stiles) but it had never taken this long to figure out, and this time, it was incredibly deadly serious.

He knew how it looked, he had been found covered in the blood of those four hunters, their skin under his nails, and had no memory of whatever the hell it was that had happened that night. On top of that, Araya vanishing as she had could easily be made to look like further suspicion on him, particularly when he was already facing charges of murder. But the entire thing was a farce, a farce that Haigh was investigating far too closely. Those four hunters had broken into his home and had attacked him, which meant even if he had killed them it would arguably have been in self defence. Clearly, Haigh had an agenda.

"Look Braeden, I know you and Morrell are trying your best, but I need to get out of here, I needed to get out of here even before the entire Callavera clan got banged up in here, but now all of them are in here, it's kind of urgent that I get out before the army of murderous hunters that got arrested kill me because they think I killed their friends and their boss." He hissed in annoyance, and Braeden scowled.

"Hey don't get stroppy with me. There's more going on here than we know, we just need to figure out what it is. We're all doing all we can. Even Scott's grandmother is helping now, she used to be a cop, she can help figure it out." She explained, looking annoyed that he was taking out his frustrations on her, and he sighed.

"I know you are. Alright, let's think about this logically, who would want to frame me? I think we can rule out the Callaveras, but who else could there be? What we need to figure out is who's strong enough to take my memories away from me and leave me totally clueless, and who would then go to the trouble of framing me?" he asked irritably, because quite frankly, he wanted out of here.

Braeden looked at Mikaela, making sure she was still on the right side of the door.

"Look, you aren't going to like this suggestion, but what if it's Stiles? I mean, we all assumed the Nogitsune was finished, but that doesn't mean it necessarily is. There's something not quite right about him." She whispered, and Derek considered it for a moment.

But no, the Nogitsune was gone, it had to be, Isaac had reported that he and Argent had immolated the bloody thing. And the kid had been possessed, and was kind of a spaz at the best of times anyway. No, this wasn't anything to do with Stiles, of that he was fairly sure. But now that she mentioned it, he couldn't help but feel the solution was obvious, that it was just in front of him, but he couldn't see it.

"No. Isn't there anything else you can do to help me get my memory back?" he shot at her, and she mused on this possibility.

"There might be a way. When the pack was attacked, a Scuffock showed up to save them, says she's here to train Lydia. She might be able to help." She offered, and Derek nodded, after all, any progress was better than none at all.

"Sounds like a plan. Anything to get out of sitting around here all the time going slowly mad with nothing to do. Can you do me a favour? There's definitely someone else in solitary with me, I want to know who they are." He said, and she shot him a concerned look.

"You're meant to be in here alone. If there's someone else in solitary with you, they aren't meant to be in here." She said worriedly, and he shrugged.

"He's perfectly safe whoever he is, I can't get out even at full moon, it's just I want to know who it is, the smell's vaguely familiar and it's driving me crazy. Well being in here is driving me crazy but that isn't helping much." He complained, and she smiled.

"Other than going crazy, how you holding up?" she asked, and he sighed wearily.

"Well other than that I'm just bored rigid. There's nothing to do and I don't even have the talking of other inmates to distract me, so all I can do is listen to myself think and there's only so much I can do of that." He complained and she patted his hand.

"We're looking into everything, and so is the pack. I still reckon there's something we're missing, it's why the sheriff let Scott's grandmother take the files, a fresh pair of eyes might help." She explained, and he nodded, then looked at her curiously.

"Does she know about all this?" he asked, and Braeden shook her head.

"Not as far as I know, and Scott probably wants to keep it that way." She said, and hesitated, but before she could do anything more with it, Derek pounced on it.

"Alright, what's up? You've been off ever since you came in the door." He challenged, and she had, ever since she had started appearing to talk to him and keep him abreast of everything that was going on in the town, she had never been as to the point as she was being tonight, and she shrugged, looking disquieted.

"I don't know, it started yesterday, just a general feeling of unease. It's weird. Oh by the way, Jackson is back." She told him, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Other than Isaac, Jackson was the only beta he had created who was still alive, both Erica and Boyd being dead.

"Really? Since when?" he asked, and she smiled grimly.

"Since he was delivered in a crate to Lydia's house. Yeah, he's less than happy as you can imagine." She said in wry amusement, and Derek let out a low whistle, yeah, he couldn't see Jackson being too happy about that happening to him.

"Who sent him?" he asked, and Braeden looked concerned.

"We don't know, it might be that woman who attacked the pack, which we're beginning to think is a Pombero but it doesn't seem like her sort of style, she's here for Lydia, not to play mind games. But get this, his arm is all black, like it's poisoned, or dying or something." She explained, and Derek frowned.

His arm had turned black? That certainly wasn't anything human, but what on earth could have done that to him, to turn his arm black like that, he'd never heard of anything like that.

Seriously, being trapped in here was pissing him off.

"Look, there's stuff going on that I need to help Scott with, which means I need to get out of here, otherwise I'm going to rot. Braden, there's something going on here, this Pombero, the Scuffock, and now Jackson turning up with something wrong with his arm, all of that on top of me being framed for a murder that I might or might not have committed and can't remember either way? Something is going on and Scott needs help!" he insisted, and she rolled her eyes.

"Derek, what do you think we've been doing? Marin and I have been going over everything, bending over backwards to try and get you out of here, but we can't figure out how. I know you're bored and going crazy, but until the police get their act in gear, you're just going to need to suffer it like everyone else. We will get you out of here ok? The pack and us haven't given up, we will get you out you just need to be patient! So stop giving me such a hard time because I actually am on your side!" she snapped, and he sat back in his chair, cowed and looking a little sheepish as the druid raged on the other side of the table from him.

"I know, you're right, sorry." He grunted, and she glared at him.

"So you should be. And for what it's worth, we think you're right, something's happening, and it's getting worse. It might all just be coincidence, but all of this happening at the same time is beginning to look a little off. Look, we know you need to get out of here, and we're working on it. Haigh can't take much longer, and then we can get the ball rolling on all this. So until then, give me a break ok?" she asked wearily and he smiled, nodding.

"Fair enough. Have you heard from Peter yet?" he asked, and she bit her lip, shaking her head.

"No and him being missing on top of everything else that's starting to happen is making me worried too. Don't worry, we will get you out of here. Even if we need to bust you out to do it, but we will get you out." She promised, and got to her feet, visiting time clearly over for her, and Derek gave her a fed up look.

"Ok thanks. You know, you look different when you're angry." He teased, and she smiled a little and shot him an amused look.

"Take it from me, never try and flirt with anyone while wearing prison orange." She advised him and with a wave she strolled from the room, leaving a grinning Derek behind.

Yeah he might be trapped in here, but having Braeden as a frequent visitor was a definite bonus. But, he mused as he looked down at himself, maybe he shouldn't try to flirt with her until he was wearing something other than correctional facility orange.

And as he watched Braeden's dark hair bouncing on her shoulders as she left, he briefly wondered just what was going on out there, and how on earth he was going to get out of this mess.

XX

Allegra had been right. There was something curious about all this.

For a start, Derek was being accused of four murders, and was also a person of interest in the disappearance of one Araya Callavera. By all accounts, she and her friends who had been killed apparently at Derek's hands were no great losses, as they seemed rather unpleasant people at the best of times, with all of them at least involved in several different murder cases, but curiously, only ever as witnesses. But that didn't explain what had happened with Derek. When people appeared with such frequency as bystanders in murder cases, people started to look at them for all the wrong reasons. Four of them had been in Derek's loft the night they had died, and had met their grisly ends there, but all four of them had been armed, and considering Derek had been wounded, it was clear the four of them had attacked in some form. That meant this entire case was a farce from the start, because as they had clearly shot at him, it was self defence, nothing more.

However, the excessive force was something that ought to be considered. True it wasn't murder but the manner in which these attackers had died was an anomaly. Yes Derek had ripped them up, and she had no idea how he had done it, but he had certainly sustained a wound in the process. So, self defence but with excessive force, but any competent lawyer could argue that Derek had done whatever was necessary to defend himself. She remembered one case, the man had been attacked in his home, held at gunpoint while a robber had tried to strip everything of value out of the house. The owner of the house had made a move, and despite his hands being bound, had tackled him to the floor, knocking the gun away. He had then, after a vicious fight, had proceeded to rip the man's throat out with his teeth, and had remained there until the police, which she led, had arrived. So, while the owner had committed a murder by killing the man who had threatened him, he was perfectly at liberty to do whatever possible and necessary in order to protect himself.

But, she thought grimly, that was something to consider. Self defence would get him away with one dead body, most likely two, but four was pushing it. There was no way Derek was fast enough to take down all four in one strike. Surely the other two would have tried to run, only to be stopped by Derek? But by the looks of the crime scene photos the men had all been killed where they stood.

She looked at the photos, her mind whirring as she thought out all of this. She wasn't meant to have the photos, but a visit to the station after she had successfully embarrassed Melissa had resulted in her blackmailing a scowling John into giving her more files than she had, anything she thought might be relevant, along with five more packs of her biscuits and her bottles of wine. She was nothing if not an entrepreneur.

Then there was Derek's memory loss. Admittedly, all of them had heard if not encountered, memory loss linked to trauma, people so shocked by what they had done, by killing other people, that they had no recollection at all of what had transpired. Derek had no memory of the men entering his apartment, let alone what had occurred afterwards. But, unlike most others, there was something about Derek's statements, both written and recorded, that rang true with her. He literally could not remember this happening, he had no idea what had happened, and the associated loss of memory terrorised him much more than he was willing to admit. So there was that to consider.

And then there was the vigour that Haigh was pursuing this with. While she appreciated that he wanted to make Derek pay, there was also a lot more going on here than he seemed to be able to see. While John and the cute young deputy had given the case over to him, they had been looking at other options, but Haigh seemed particularly determined to get a conviction, at the cost of thoroughly analysing everything that was in front of him. She sighed wearily, no wonder this case wasn't getting anywhere, it had gaping holes in it in some places and so much filler in others it was impossible to figure out. She knew John and Parish had had a lot on their plates recently, rebuilding the force after the attack by the swordsmen that had nearly killed Melissa too but seriously boys...

Hang on...

She pulled the file on the Hale fire closer to her, peering through her spectacles at the names of the deceased. Talia Hale and her entire family (a pity, she had liked Talia, she'd met her a few times), several other names, but one that rang a bell...

She sorted through the number of files on the table, flicking through them all until she found the records of all the police in the station (also a result of her blackmailing John, who had just sighed and admitted defeat before giving them to her). Pulling out Haigh's, she scrutinised it, her eyes scanning the file, good test scores, leadership competency, background in arson investigation...and the name of his stepfather, one William Haigh. So, his mother had remarried at some point, yes here it was, mother married this Haigh guy just before he turned of age, and his former name was Pearson. And in the list of the deceased on the Hale fire, there was one Nadia Pearson, who, now she had found the next of kin, was clearly Haigh's younger sister.

So, Haigh's younger sister had been killed in the Hale house fire, and was now in charge of an investigation that could very well see Derek put to death if the judge ruled it was murder and not self defence. Yes, there was definitely a conflict of interest going on there, and that could potentially discredit everything that Haigh had thrown at Derek before now.

She nodded to herself, John would have to be told, after all, if Haigh hadn't volunteered the information there was little chance the sheriff knew of his conflict of interest. But she still couldn't help but think there was something else going on here.

She was just about to get to her feet when she heard the front door creak open.

"Melissa? You're home early dear." She called, getting to her feet to go and greet her daughter, catching sight of the clock as she did so.

Wait a minute, Melissa wouldn't be home yet, it was far too early. And other than some gently footfalls, Melissa hadn't answered. Allegra frowned, the boys had practice, Isaac actually had both being on both the swim team and the lacrosse team, and having been briefed by Melissa about how overprotective of Isaac Scott was, there was little chance Scott would let Isaac come home without him.

All in all, it meant that no one was meant to be in the house.

That meant whoever was next door in the hallway was an intruder.

She strained her ears, cursing her slight loss of hearing in one ear, so she turned her head to the right so she could hear with her better ear. There was definitely something moving through there, there was a sort of shuffling noise going on. There was a padding noise, the bottom stair creaking a little before whatever was out there seemed to think better of it.

Allegra frowned, reaching around her back to find her gun. While Melissa didn't like her having the gun in the house (owing to an incident when Stiles had found it once and he and Scott had played cowboys and Indians with a real gun), she had put it on when she went out, and now, she was thinking that it was a very good thing that she hadn't taken it off.

Whatever was out there ought not to be there. Admittedly, it most likely wasn't a person, otherwise they'd have either attacked or scarpered by now. Unless it was Scott playing a joke (he could whistle Dixie for an inheritance if he was) the thing out there shouldn't be there. She rolled her eyes, figuring she was probably overreacting, but after having been attacked by a very antisocial possum that had strolled in the house once before, she wasn't taking any chances. She edged forward, gun at the ready, the shuffling noise getting louder as she made her way forward. She hesitated, certain she heard a steady dripping sound too as she got closer to the hall door. Shaking her head, she raised her gun, and entered the hallway.

And then breathed a sigh of relief.

It was just a dog, a golden Labrador by the looks of it.

"Hello boy, what are you doing in here, where's your owner?" she asked kindly, moving towards the dog, but as she got closer, she saw drops of blood covering the floor and the carpet, charting the way the dog had moved, from the ajar front door, in a circle around the entry way, to the stairs and back.

"Aww are you hurt boy, is that the matter? Don't you worry, my grandson can fix you right up...wait..." she said, looking at the front door.

The door had been shut. Years of being a police woman had ingrained that into her, you always shut the door, the better to hear it opening. The front door had been shut, she was sure of it, so how had a wounded dog managed to open the door?

The door was now open, enough for the dog to have gotten in through. Its golden tail was wagging, but Allegra looked at the door, and to her shock she spotted trickles of blood running down it, a small pool at the base of the door where the dog had clearly shoved the door open.

Something wasn't right here.

"Come on boy, let's have a look at you." Allegra said, keeping a finger on the trigger as she hesitantly reached out to pet the dog's tail.

She did so, touching it's fur, and it seemed to stop, as if considering whether to turn around or not. And then, to her shock, it gave a vicious, snarling growl. Allegra took a step back, gun at the ready as it snarled, its body tensed, as if prepared to pounce.

And then the Labrador turned around, and Allegra screamed.

The dog had no head. The head had been cut clean off, and blood was still dripping from the wound, a jagged, shattered bone sticking out from the middle of its neck. Blood covered its golden chest, drops falling onto the floor as it inexplicably growled at her viciously, and with a monstrous bark, the headless dog pounced at her, blood splashing off of its decapitated corpse, its lethal shattered spinal column aiming right for Allegra's stomach as she screamed.

The dog barked, shots were fired, there was a gasp, a thud...

And then there was silence, as the front door creaked, dripping with blood, with a long trail of blood heading down the garden path and into the bushes.

And within the bushes, a glowing pair of sickly yellow eyes waited, watching the house.

**What on earth just attacked Allegra? Seriously not nice, a headless dog attacking grandma, some things are just not on. Will she be alright? Or will this horrible creature take someone else Scott cares about?**

**I hope the reconciliations were cute enough for everyone, Liam was cute again this week, being so worried about Scott bless him, I still want a Liam, hes lovely. And so Melody has a plan for the pack, but something makes me think that Deaton has a different plan. And just what is Dexio since Deaton was so worried about keeping it quiet from Melody?**

**Agravaine is up to something, what does he have his pack doing in the graveyard, and what exactly is Thane and Bonnie so worried about?**

**And so there is more to Haigh than meets the eye, I didnt mean to make the sheriff look incompetent, far from it, but to me, with everything else going on he would be keeping less of a watch on things than he ought to be. And more than that, there are things going on behind the scenes, but just what are they exactly, and where does Haigh fit into it?**

**So, that;s us for another chapter, only one left to go in chapter two then were on to the action packed episode three (which will include shirtless Jackson and possibly Aiden, maybe Scott and Isaac playing too), but we still have an encounter with Peter to go before then**

**As always my lovely people, you know the drill, and very soon I'll need more help as I'll be running a poll related to my Two Pack series, so watch this space, and until then, please favourite, follow and review!**


	11. Episode 2: Silence Part 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"It looks horrible." Danny commented, peering at Jackson's blackened arm, noticing that a couple of black spots had appeared on his hand during the course of the day, and his best friend got up, scowling at the world through the window.

"This entire thing is horrible, I still feel unwashed!" he complained, and Danny smirked a little.

"Really? After two half hour long showers and an hour long bath? You're cleaner than the rest of the school put together." He said, amused, and Jackson shrugged.

His mother had been delighted to see Jackson and had immediately fussed over him, Jackson playing his part well and assuring her that he had just come for a visit, as Danny hadn't actually told anyone other than the rest of the pack that he was missing, and she had been more than happy to let Jackson stay with them for the time being. Due to her being a bit ditzy, the fact that Jackson had appeared with no clothes of his own, no wallet, no phone and no nothing had been lost on her. Danny smiled as he considered it, he loved his mom dearly, but her head was in the clouds, which suited them.

Having had one long shower before they had gone to the hospital, when they had come up, Jackson had immediately begged that he could go for another one and Danny had agreed, figuring anyone would be feeling very unclean after spending months in a box, and for someone like Jackson, it would be torture. Fortunately, Danny had found Jackson several things to wear, and when he had gone for a bath after lounging around wearing only a towel for an hour he'd gone out and bought Jackson what he deemed essentials: another couple of shirts, some jeans, shoes, underwear (fair enough, he could grant that they were essentials) and on top of that, deodorant, soap, shower gel, aftershave, a razor, and hair wax. Granting that he did at least need some of the items on the list, and figuring that if he didn't get them all he would have to deal with a Jackson-class Hissy Fit™, he had obliged, and besides, he liked shopping for that sort of stuff as well, and it let Jackson have the house to himself.

However when he had returned Jackson had been kind of jumpy, as if he was relieved that Danny had made it back safe and sound, and had immediately insisted they hang out in his room, thanking Danny (which made a change, he didn't thank most people) and now, apparently feeling a lot better than he had, now that he was dressed, was musing over the state of his arm.

"I know I just feel...dirty. I think it's this." Jackson said, frowning as he looked at the blackened arm, and hesitantly, Danny touched it, feeling the scalding heart coming off it.

"Yeah, that definitely isn't normal." He said worriedly, and Jackson scowled.

"None of this is normal! I was kidnapped, I've been missing for three months, my arm looks like it's dying, I feel unclean, I was shipped here basically naked, there's some freak with glowing yellow eyes who scares the crap out of me, and to top it all off, McCall's an Alpha!" he stormed, and Danny suppressed a small smile, he had figured that would be coming out in a tantrum sooner rather than later.

"Jackson, there's nothing you can do about it. He's the Alpha...oh I suppose I might as well tell you all of it, he's the lacrosse captain too." He told him, bracing himself, and he saw Jackson's eyes widen in fury.

"Seriously? Don't tell me he's swim captain on top of that?" he demanded, and oddly, Danny could see why he was a little pissed.

The three months in a crate notwithstanding, Jackson had missed everything significant, partly due to living in London and due to his kidnap, that had happened in the last few months, and as such was very behind on all the news. Waking up to find the world had changed on him had to be a bit of a blow to be honest, especially finding out that everything that had once been his, lacrosse captain, swim captain, popularity, Lydia, even him to an extent, had now all changed hands when he was out of it. And finding out Scott and Isaac were now the captains of his old teams wasn't going to make him any happier about all this either.

"No, Isaac is." He informed him and Jackson swore, and Danny shot him an admonishing look, he knew full well he didn't like that word, and after continuing to rant he did give him a slightly apologetic look.

"Sorry." He muttered before scowling and looking back at the mirror.

"Look I know it's a lot to take in Jackson, and a lot's changed. But like it or not Scott's the Alpha, and you're his Beta." He told him patiently, and Jackson scowled.

"Yeah because of Lahey which I didn't ask for! How come I get dragged down? Well I'm not doing it." He said stubbornly, and Danny sighed.

"Jackson, you need to. He's your Alpha which means he can make you obey, and you, being you, probably one of the only people he actually would make you obey. And besides, the twins are very loyal to him, and even usually, they could still kick your ass, so please, in the interests of everyone getting on, don't make a fuss." He wheedled, and Jackson looked as though he was about to argue when he gave a grumpy grunt and scowled into the mirror, quietly fuming.

Danny rolled his eyes. Yeah, Jackson was his best friend, and he loved him, but still, he was a pain in the ass. He got that he wasn't having the best of days right now, but still, he was rather high maintenance.

"Does it hurt?" Danny asked, and Jackson frowned at his arm, moving it experimentally.

"Yes and no, it kind, know how after practice your muscles are burning? It's kind of like that, but the entire thing just feels hot, and not the sort of hot I usually am." He said with a mere trace of a smile and Danny grinned.

"Well I'm glad to see your confidence is coming back. And admittedly you do look better." He told him, as Jackson, with some food in him, did look a little perkier than he had the day before.

"Thanks. But this, how am I meant to hide this?" he demanded, wincing a little as he waved his arm around for emphasis.

"Melissa said she'd strap it up, so then you can still move it, it won't be in a cast, just bandaged." He told him, frowning a little at the pain it was causing him, and Jackson nodded, sighing in defeat.

"I can't believe I can't even call my parents." He complained, and Danny patted his shoulder as he got up off the bed, hesitating a little as he looked at a photo Scott had took of him and Ethan ice skating at the lake. Ignoring it, he gave Jackson a kind look.

"I know dude, but it's just for a while, the sheriff knows now, and Isaac said he asked Argent to head to London and let them know in person." He explained, and Jackson gave him an odd look.

"Isaac did that?" he asked, and Danny nodded.

"Well yeah, when Isaac started hanging out with Allison before he and Scott got back together, Argent started hanging out with Isaac too, they figured out how to stop the Oni together. He keeps in contact with him, looks out for him." He explained, but Jackson still looked shocked.

"Isaac did that for me?" he asked, stupefied, and Danny grinned.

"Well Scott kind of rubs off on everyone, and since Isaac's sleeping with him...besides, he was looking for info on what attacked us." He told him offhandedly, smirking at the odd look on Jackson's face.

Jackson went quiet, as Danny's eyes again lingered on the picture of him and Ethan, and tried hard to ignore the well of emotions in his chest when Jackson let out a cry of frustration as he stared in the mirror (which he did more than was acceptable at the best of times, just for the record).

"What now? You're as clean as you're going to get, you've got some new clothes which you look pretty good in, just as good as usual actually, Argent's telling your parents, you're back in Beacon Hills, and Scott is working on finding out what actually happened to you, so what's your problem?" he demanded, vexed, and Jackson scowled at him.

"None of that, but McCall looking for answers doesn't exactly fill me with confidence. No, it's, this! What am I supposed to do with," he grumbled, pulling at his long hair, "this?" he demanded irritably, and Danny sighed, actually kind of relieved, that he could do something about.

"Come here." He ordered in exasperation, and Jackson gave him a strange look and did as bid, sitting on the bed while Danny picked up the way he got him.

"It's too long, and it was greasy." He whined, and Danny smirked a little in amusement, yeah it wasn't funny but he sounded so offended by it.

"Three months in a box will do that to you. Now, stop whining and I'll fix it." He chided and Jackson went silent as ordered as Danny, wax now on his fingers, started running his hands through his hair, Jackson enjoying the sensation despite how odd this was.

"Are you ok?" Jackson asked as Danny worked the wax into his hair.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Danny asked evasively, and Jackson glowered up at him.

"Because of what happened with Ethan. Danny I swear I didn't mean to make that happen." He insisted, and Danny nodded dolefully.

"I know you didn't. You were looking out for me. About time someone did, I'm not a kid, if Ethan had told me..." he said, and Jackson looked at him questioningly.

"Are you saying you'd have been ok with it?" he asked softly, and Danny shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know, I mean...he and Aiden killed people, a lot of them by the sounds of it. They were involved in Erica and Boyd's death, and they almost killed Scott. Huh guess I know why Isaac was so determined to use Ethan as a punching bag now, so that's something. But, the fact that he kept it from me, and the others helped him...Lydia of all of them, keeping it from me when she knew full well about Aiden..." he ranted.

"Ow." Jackson mumbled as Danny pulled on his hair a little.

"Sorry. I'm just...he killed people Jackson, before last night I thought Ethan was this sweet, adorable guy, someone I loved, but now I find out he's had a whole other life and he was a killer, and worse, he kept it from me! I don't know how to deal with that."

"He didn't want to upset you." Jackson suggested and Danny snorted.

"Good job with that. He killed people, it's not like you, you were controlled." He justified and Jackson sent him a strange look.

"Something makes me think this Deucalion bloke didn't give them much choice buddy. They might not have been totally controlled, but they weren't totally free either from the sounds of it." He said gently, and Danny looked away, his eyes storming with hurt.

"Maybe. There." He whispered, moving to the bathroom to wash his hands and Jackson considered his new hairstyle, grinning in approval.

Danny had worked his hair into a fauxhawk, and he had to admit, he liked how it looked. He ran his hand along the ridge experimentally, liking how it felt, not looking too laden with wax and flicked the front, happy with it, maybe there was benefits to his hair being longer than usual.

"Thanks dude." He said as Danny, his face clouded, came back in and he gave him a slight smile.

"Does that mean you'll stop whining now?" he asked hopefully, and Jackson's only response was a glare.

Danny then picked up his phone, which had just buzzed, and he frowned.

"Lydia didn't find anything to help us figure out what happened to you, but she says she has an idea on how to find out what happened to us." He read aloud, and Jackson looked at him curiously.

"The old Jedi lady?" Jackson asked, and Danny nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, her. Come on." He told him, and Jackson looked at him in confusion.

"Where?" he asked in shock, and Danny looked at him as if he were being dim on purpose.

"Lydia's. Whatever she's got in mind, that woman was after her, so if she's going out she might be in danger. And since she dumped Aiden, she doesn't have a bodyguard anymore...mind you, he's been more interested in protecting Scott recently anyway." He mused to himself as he got to his knees in front of Jackson, clutching under the bed.

"Yeah fair enough, but I'm kind of under developed at the moment, I'm not back to fighting strength." He commented, and Danny gave him a deadly smile.

"That's what this is for." He said, revealing a large cattle prod looking thing from under the bed, which crackled with electricity as he turned it on.

"Something else I missed?" Jackson asked, amused, and Danny smiled.

"Oh yeah." He said, revealing a bow and quiver of arrows from under the bed too and grinned at the shocked look on Jackson's face.

"When did you guys become badass?" he demanded, and Danny grinned.

"A while back. Coming?" he asked perkily, and an astounded Jackson watched in shock as Danny pulled on a leather jacket, pulled on the quiver, anchored the box around it, and slid the prodder into the back of his trousers.

He then threw Jackson a red leather jacket (a gift from Ethan, but he wasn't thinking about that) and beckoned his astounded best friend out the door.

XX

"Um sheriff?" Haigh called from his position at the desk as the sheriff and Parish (his favourite apparently) talked in low voices about the Hale case.

"Yeah?" he asked, and he slid a piece of paper to him.

"Isn't that the McCall house? There's been shots fired." He said, and the sheriff had a strange look of foreboding on his face as he and Parish both looked at the address.

"That's their house alright. But how can there be shots fired, the kids are at school and Melissa's at the hospital." Parish said in confusion, and it suddenly clicked in John's head.

"Allegra!" he exclaimed and with that the two of them rushed out of the station, bound for the McCall house.

XX

"Ha!" Stiles exclaimed joyously as the entire group sat around eating burgers after their workout session.

Scott, who was considering his burger (in other words whether or not to eat the gherkin) looked up.

"What's up?" he asked, and Stiles grinned.

"Only me being a genius as usual. Remember how I hacked into the police system so I get an alert on my phone every time something happens?" he asked brightly, and Kira grinned in amusement.

"You mean the thing that if you get caught doing, we hang you out to dry?" she asked brightly, and Liam grinned at her as he ate his chicken burger.

Stiles shot her a bemused look, while Garrett, who was finishing his chips, looked at them curiously.

"Um, why do you want to know every time there's a police alert?" he asked, and Liam looked up, also curious of the answer.

Aiden looked at Scott in slight alarm, as if silently asking how they were going to get out of this one, and Scott slid his fingers tensely along the table in panic. His wolf instincts were kicking in, he wanted to protect his pack from these unwanted questions. For goodness sake, surely that wouldn't kick it off, there was nothing threatening, Garrett was just curious. Isaac was looking at him worriedly, fearing what could happen if they weren't careful, but he needn't have worried, now Stiles had made up with him, there was nothing to worry about.

"Garrett...cards on the table. I'm a nosey bastard, I can't not know what's going on." Stiles informed him and Garrett grinned at Liam, Scott relaxing, accepting this as kosher, to everyone's great relief.

"And his dad works there." Ethan supplied helpfully, making Liam look at Stiles curiously.

"What's going on then?" he asked, nodding towards the phone in his hand.

"Well I keep hacking into it, but Parish,"

"The cute deputy." Ethan interjected helpfully, earning him an odd look from Garrett and Liam.

"Keeps blocking me out," Stiles continued, though he looked as though he was admitting that Ethan had a point, "but he hasn't blocked this new one out yet. So, what's the current crisis in Beacon Hills, any bets?" he asked hopefully.

"Car jacking." Liam suggested hopefully, eating his chips.

"Burglary...of that cafe Isaac works in, some smart git behind the counter sold the cake I wanted." Kira complained with a pout, Liam cocking his head at her in sympathy, and Isaac sighed, looking at her apologetically.

"I said I was sorry, how was I to know you wanted that cake, I'd have kept it for you otherwise. Murder." He suggested cynically, which to be fair was a fairly reasonably guess in this town.

"Arson." Aiden chipped in, looking a little too excited at the prospect, making Scott and Stiles give him a slightly concerned look, Scott silently vowing never to let him near a naked flame if he could help it.

"Bestiality...what?" Ethan asked as everyone sent him an odd look.

"Drug deal going down." Was Garrett's guess, and Stiles shook his head.

"Nah, we're quite good for drugs here." He told him, and Garrett frowned thoughtfully.

"I wonder where the boys in the orphanage are getting their stuff then." He mused quietly, and Scott turned to ask him what he meant by that when Stiles' face went white.

"Uh oh..." he said worriedly, and Isaac looked up nervously as he finished the last bite of his burger.

"What, was I right?" he asked pessimistically, but Stiles shook his head.

"Um, no, it's just...someone reported shots had been fired, in your house dude." Stiles told Scott worriedly, and Scott's eyes widened as he looked at him in shock.

"What, someone's firing a gun at my house? Who, why?" he asked, standing up, the last third of his burger uneaten.

"Yeah, you two are here, and your mom's at work, dad had a budget meeting with her today." Liam supplied, but Aiden gave Scott a worried look.

"Isn't your grandma in town?" he asked, and Scott and Isaac exchanged an alarmed look before dashing out of the restaurant, leaving the others looking worriedly after them as the twins tried to stuff as much food as they could into their mouths as they followed the ones they had appointed themselves bodyguards of.

XX

"Here you go mom, a hot water bottle for you." Melissa said kindly, passing it to her mother as she quivered in the armchair.

"Is it filled with gin?" she asked weakly as Scott patted her hand sympathetically, and Melissa shook her head.

"Sorry mom, no. But this is." She said brightly, passing her a glass and the bottle.

Allegra surveyed the two in her hands, gave the glass to Scott, screwed the top off the gin and simply drank from the bottle, and Isaac shrugged at an astounded Scott, after all, she probably needed it.

Having blazed across town, they had found her covered in the blood of a headless dog corpse with the sheriff and Parrish both trying to calm her down. Melissa had arrived not long later, the sheriff having alerted her to the fact that there were shots fired in the house, and now Allegra was getting back to something remotely resembling calm again.

The twins were currently circling the entire block, trying to get some vague hint of what and where the headless dog had come from, but so far they had had no luck, only a slight smell of sulphur that seemed to be permeating the area. The two of them were currently standing outside making sure nothing else attempted to get into the house.

The headless corpse was in the hall, riddled with every single bullet Allegra had had in her gun, which had finally seemed to stop the whatever it was. Blood had splattered up the wall, leaving Allegra a quivering mess as the decapitated corpse slid to a stop in front of her, finally stopped. The sheriff and Parrish had arrived a little later, calming her hysteria and managing to get her to function again.

"And here you thought the two murders were a coincidence." Parrish said dryly as they examined the corpse of the dog, and the sheriff looked at him in alarm.

"Wait, are you telling me this is the same dog that was killed?" he demanded, and Parrish nodded.

"Yep, same one, he had a claw missing from his back leg, it's him alright." He told the sheriff grimly, and John bit down a curse.

"Wait a minute, are you telling me that those two kids were killed because someone wanted to kill their dog?" he demanded angrily, and Parrish merely shrugged, but the expression on his face told the sheriff that he believed that at least.

Well that was a new one. Great.

"You ok grandma?" Scott asked frantically, he couldn't believe it, after everything, trying to keep her safe from the supernatural and from everything crappy in their lives, it had attacked her, and she had been lucky to escape with her life, and it was still a miracle that she hadn't been killed by the damn thing in the first place.

Allegra looked at him in shock, her face still very white, holding her hot water bottle to her as she drained another glass of gin.

"Scott, I just got attacked by a headless dog. This dog had no head, was able to growl, has blood everywhere and is currently lying dead in the hall. A dog without a head should be dead, and it attacked me! I'm not even in the same bloody state as alright! Oh great, I'm seeing double now on top of everything else." She cried in despair as the twins entered the room.

"After the amount of straight gin you just downed I'm not surprised." Melissa said, patting her mother's shoulder to calm her.

"No, they're the twins, they're friends of ours. Aiden's the one with spiky hair, Ethan's the other one." Isaac explained as the two beckoned him and Scott over.

"Oh hello boys. Have you got something stronger than gin on you?" she asked hopefully and they shook their heads.

"No, sorry." Ethan said kindly and she sagged a little in her seat as the sheriff came back in to talk to her.

"How is she doing?" Ethan asked outside in the hallway as John asked her about what happened, and Scott frowned.

"About as good as she's going to get any time soon. But I reckon one of the attending officers helped calm her down." He said with a small smile, as Parrish, who had been frowning beside the corpse of the dog, went a little pink and went back to what he was doing.

"Can't blame her." Ethan muttered, and Isaac nodded, it was a fair point.

"Anything?" Isaac asked, casting worried glances at Allegra, who wasn't shaking as much now but she still looked shell shocked.

"Nothing, only that kind of cloud of sulphur, but that could just be someone cooking eggs or someone with gas." Aiden said, sounding disappointed, rubbing his hand through his spiky hair worriedly.

"Do you have any idea what this thing is?" Parrish asked hopefully, but Scott shook his head.

"None, other than headless dog zombie. Poor grandma." He said, looking at the poor animal.

"Poor dog, being made into that." Isaac said sadly, looking at the corpse.

"There's no way this is a coincidence. It can't be." Ethan told Scott, and his Alpha nodded darkly, his eyes smouldering.

"Agreed. I think we need to find out what happened to Jackson, because everything kicked off when he appeared last night. We need answers." He told them, but Aiden bit his lip in thought, his brow furrowed.

"Yeah but how? I mean he can't remember, what if it's whoever's framing Derek that's behind this?" he asked, and that was a good point, but Scott shook his head slowly.

"I don't think so, they wouldn't have waited so long, but there's no way that it isn't all connected somehow. Jackson might know more than he says." He considered, and Isaac and Aiden's faces lit up.

"Ooh, can we interrogate him? Please!" Aiden begged happily, Isaac nodding eagerly.

"Yeah, we won't hurt him...much." he promised and Scott shot him an amused look.

"No you can't, but let's leave that till tomorrow. Now..." he said, figuring he should forewarn them but before he could, Isaac looked into the living room then at him nervously.

"Sweetie, can I make a suggestion you won't like?" he asked shyly, and struck by his hesitancy, he cocked his head at Isaac, nodding for him to continue.

"Well, I reckon you should tell her. Everything, right now." He told him and Scott's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you crazy? Tell grandma the supernatural exists?" he demanded incredulously, and Ethan looked at Allegra then shrugged.

"Sorry dude but she's already kind of clued in being attacked by a decapitated dog zombie." He told him, which did kind of take the wind out of Scott's sails, and Aiden nodded.

"And believe it or not, Lydia and I did actually talk when we were together...before she dumped me for no apparent reason," he complained bitterly, the others wincing, "but when she had Peter hijacking her, you guys not telling her everything kind of made it all worse. I reckon they're right, not telling her will just make it worse for her, she needs to know." He told him, and Isaac nodded.

"Yeah, you guys kind of dropped the ball with Lydia." He told him and Scott glowered at him.

"Yeah well you were worshipping the ground Derek walked on at the time, we both made mistakes." He bitched back and Isaac grinned a little.

"Yeah, but then I found a new Alpha, one far younger, far sexier, and probably more powerful too." He said in a playful voice and Scott deflated, this is why you didn't sleep with your betas, they had too much power over you, they could defuse you when you didn't want defused.

"Cute though you guys are, he's right. She should know." Ethan advised and Scott harrumphed.

"But..."

"She took you being gay well." Isaac pointed out, and Scott threw his hands in the air in disbelief.

"Oh yeah, because they're similar! By the way grandma, know how I'm sleeping with Isaac? I'm also a werewolf who's the boss of Isaac! Yeah, that'll go over well."

"I reckon they're right Scott, she'd be better knowing. If only so she can process this better. Admittedly, for a cop it's a pain in the ass because you start wondering how many cases were related to the supernatural, but she was just attacked by a headless dog zombie. That's a lot for anyone not clued in to take in." Parrish advised quietly from behind him, and Scott sighed, knowing they were right, and they had hurt Lydia more by not telling her and he didn't want to do that to his grandmother.

"Ok. You're right." He admitted, and the three betas nodded just as there was a knock at the door.

Oh crap.

"Scott?" Deaton asked, poking his head around the door.

There were three menacing growls, and Scott had to physically restrain Aiden from leaping on the vet, his blue eyes glowing and claws growing as he struggled to get to the vet, and Ethan and Isaac looked as though they were also considering leaping on him. Admittedly, none of them had any reason to like him. In addition to keeping stuff from them, to Isaac he was behind the sacrifice that allowed Stiles to be possessed in the first place and was also the guiding force behind his and Scott's break up, and to the twins he was the one who was content to let Aiden die and hadn't even offered any suggestions when he had been fighting for his life.

"Aiden, stop it! Down boy!" Scott growled, eyes flashing red, and while Aiden growled and bowed his head, retreating, his eyes and claws remained wolfish.

"Wow you really are popular." Parrish commented idly, wondering if they charged what he would do, considering the sheriff and Melissa blamed him for what had happened to Stiles, he'd probably let the twins have him.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Isaac demanded angrily, golden eyes glaring at Scott.

"He's here because I asked him here. As Argent is on the move, I need to know what the hell attacked grandma, and I don't have time to wait for him, so he's the next choice. Now, all three of you, go and stand with grandma. Now." He intoned, eyes flashing red, and the twins snarled angrily at Deaton before turning into the living room.

Isaac gave Deaton a last unpleasant look which he then shot at Scott (yeah he figured he was going to pay for bringing Deaton here) before he followed them into the living room.

"He so much as breathes funny, rip his head off." He commanded the twins, just loud enough for Deaton to hear.

"With pleasure." The twins said in unison, Ethan slamming the door behind them as Scott sighed, releasing the stress before he turned to his boss.

"Sorry about that, but as you can see, you're still not their favourite person." He admitted lamely, and Parrish nodded, his face concerned.

"No kidding." He commented, giving the door an apprehensive look.

Deaton nodded sagely, looking slightly apologetic.

"I know that Scott, and I know that I didn't do myself any favours with the three of them, but I was doing what I thought was best. Obviously I got it wrong." He admitted and Scott grinned a little.

"Well maybe now you can earn redemptive brownie points by telling me what this is." He told him, pointing to the zombie and Deaton gave him a grim smile.

"I doubt it'll do anything for my standing with them but I'll give it a try. It attacked your grandmother?" he asked curiously, inspecting the corpse as the other two watched intently.

"Yeah, no idea why." Scott complained, and Deaton nodded.

"At a guess, I'd say she disturbed it from whatever it was meant to be doing here. I sincerely doubt it would have been ordered to attack her alone. I expect it was here for something to do with you." Deaton mused looking it over, and Parrish looked at the thing.

"It's the one that was hit in the murder wasn't it?" he asked, and Deaton nodded.

"Yes it's the same dog. Perhaps the murderer killed those boys simply to create this." He theorised, and Scott snarled, seriously, killing two young guys just to kill their dog, which was bad enough in and of itself? That was a new low even for this town.

"What is it, that's what I want to know." Scott said impatiently, and Parrish looked at him with a bemused expression.

"I'd rather know how she killed it, something makes me think there'll be more of them." He said grimly, and Deaton nodded.

"You're most likely right. Your grandmother was very lucky, one of her bullets ripped down its spinal cord, which severed whatever was keeping it animated. As to what it is Scott, I can't tell you." He said grimly, and Scott growled.

"Oh no you don't, you're not doing that. From now on, you tell us what we want to know, when we want to know it, not when you think we should find out!" he commanded, his eyes flashing red and Deaton stood up to his full height, looking Scott in the eye, his expression furious.

"Scott I am your boss..."

"Not here you're not. Here, I'm the Alpha whose job it is to protect the town, and I'm fed up of doing it with second hand information, so tell me what this damned thing is!" He growled menacingly, Alpha power crackling off him and Deaton looked as if he seriously wanted to retort back, but decided against it with great difficulty, his face a mixture of suppressed rage and bristling resentment.

"Scott..."

"Now!" Scott commanded angrily, and Deaton, beaten, bowed his head, grunted in anger and nodded.

"I would if I could, I don't know what it is, I have several theories though, but I need to study it more thoroughly before I'll be sure. As soon as I am, I'll call you." He said in a voice of forced calm, and Scott's eyes returned to normal, simmering down.

"Ok. Thank you." Scott said softly, and Deaton nodded before turning to Parrish.

"Can I take it?" he asked, and Parrish, who had watched the exchange with interest, nodded.

"Sure, it's not as if we can do anything about it. Good luck." He said and Deaton nodded, picking up the corpse.

"I'm sorry it's just...I'm fed up of you knowing more than you let on, because all it does is get people I care about hurt. Even you, remember with Julia?" Scott asked, and Deaton hesitated at the door.

"I know. I swear I'll call as soon as I confirm what it is." He said, not meeting Scott's eyes then swept from the house without a further word.

"That was fun." Parrish commented, and Scott nodded, eyes narrowed.

There was something he was missing about Deaton but what?

"Yeah. And now I get to ruin grandma's day even more." He said, and Parrish clapped his shoulder kindly and followed him into the living room.

"I want to know what the hell attacked me Melissa, headless dogs aren't meant to get into house where the door is shut, they're not even meant to exist!" Allegra snapped angrily, and she was now on her feet.

"Grandma..." Scott began, and she looked at her grandson in shock.

"You all saw it! I know it sounds like I'm crazy, I feel like I'm crazy, but there is a headless dog out there that attacked me! I want to know what on earth is going on! Or am I going totally crazy?" she asked helplessly, looking at Melissa, a subtle smell of fear coming off of her, and Scott walked over and gave her a hug.

"You're not going mad grandma. Believe me, we want to know what that thing was too. But you're not crazy, it does exist. We don't know what it is yet, but it does exist. That thing, well that's just the latest in a long list of fresh hells that call this town home." He explained, and she took a step back suspiciously while Melissa looked at Isaac, conducting a silent conversation with him, and his nod was all she needed to understand what was going on.

Her mother was about to join the chessboard.

"What are you talking about?" Allegra asked, her eyes narrowed, as if wondering if he was simply humouring her, and Scott gave her a helpless sigh.

"The supernatural exists grandma, and that's just something we haven't met before. Oh here goes, please don't hate me..." he said, and the entire room held its breath as he turned his eyes red and looked nervously at Allegra.

Allegra was quiet for a moment as she observed her red eyed grandson, his fangs and claws slowly extending and the entire room watched with bated breath, waiting for her reaction, and finally she found her voice.

"Well dear...that's rather impressive. Do I get an explanation or is this, just a thing to need to live with?" she croaked, and Scott grinned, ignoring the smug smile Isaac had on his face.

He hated it when he was right.

XX

After Scott, Isaac and the twins abrupt departure, Kira had checked her phone to see she had received a text from Lydia. After being assured by Stiles that Scott's grandmother was alright, and having spent the last few minutes watching Liam and Garrett have an almost silent argument that involved a lot of looks at her for some reason which made Liam blush, she was quite glad of the excuse to leave, but had also been pleased by Liam's offer to walk her to her car, which made Garrett smile proudly as he did it. After bidding him goodbye, leaving him blushing behind her for some odd reason, she had come to Lydia's, and had been greeted by Lydia, dressed in a floral dress.

"He's back." She told her, and Kira looked at her in confusion.

"Who is?" she asked, completely thrown by this pronouncement.

"Peter." Lydia told her before beckoning her into the house, and a shocked Kira lingered on the doorstep for a moment before following her friend into the house.

"How do you know that, when did he come back?" she demanded, and Lydia shrugged as she made herself some tea.

"I have no idea, I just got this feeling, it's like I heard him talking to me, his smug self assured voice, he's here, he's back, I know he is." She told her, and Kira shook her head, yeah, Lydia might not want trained but she needed a handle on this thing of hers and quickly.

"Ok...forgetting the fact that you now seem to be linked to him, what's that got to do with us?" she asked, and Lydia looked at her, her face frustrated.

"Peter is the one who made me into a banshee Kira. Ever since he bit me and left me for dead, I've been hooked up to the supernatural control computer, and it's so annoying! I have no idea what I am, who I am half the time, and usually I just stumble along finding dead bodies, and I'm sick of it. Now there's some new threat in town which thrashed everyone I care about, and guess what? It's here for me. So, once and for all, there are going to be some answers. I want to know everything, and I'm starting with him." She hissed in vexation, and Kira bit her lip worriedly.

It wasn't as if she was bothered with Lydia finding anything out, far from it. The sooner she got more information on who and what she was, the happier they would all be. But the thought of interrogating Peter for that information, Satan in a v-neck himself, well that just didn't sit well with her at all.

"Um, is that a good idea? I get that you're pissed off, but is talking to Peter a good idea? Isn't he like the big bad?" she asked, and Lydia smiled coldly.

"Not since Derek ripped his throat out, he's only a little bad. And he did this to me, and he knows a lot more than he's telling. So, I'm getting answers." She said, heading for the door, Kira on her heels.

"What about Martagh, can't you just ask her?" she asked hopefully, and Lydia scoffed.

"Oh yeah trust the weird Dumbledore lady who appeared after the horse has bolted? No, I'm asking Peter, I'm not sold on this Martagh woman. Besides, he's been missing since before Allison died, I want to know where he was. And why I'm suddenly connected with him." She said darkly, slipping on her shoes and Kira sighed helplessly, there was clearly no arguing with her.

"That's why you called me isn't it? I'm your backup." She asked, slightly amused, and Lydia gave her an innocent look.

"Hardly, I just wondered if you wanted to hang out." She said, her red lips pursed to stop her smiling and Kira grinned.

"I wasn't born yesterday. Alright fine, we'll take my car, my sword's in there anyway." She said, and Lydia grinned smugly as she followed her friend out of the door.

And to their great surprise, they found Danny, wearing his bow and arrow and with a cattle prod in his trousers and Jackson, clad in a red leather jacket with his hair in a fauxhawk, waiting for them.

"What are you two doing here?" Kira asked in shock and Lydia sighed in annoyance.

"When I told you I had an idea, it didn't mean come and poke your noses in." She complained, and Jackson grinned maddeningly at her.

"Yeah well, since you dumped Aiden, you're down a bodyguard, so here we are, as he's apparently become Robin Hood while I was away." He said, jerking a thumb towards a grinning Danny.

"I don't need a bodyguard, Kira can kick both your asses any day, that's why I asked you here. Besides, what good will you be, since you're terrified of all Hale wolves?" Lydia asked with a slight smile and Jackson gave her a cocky grin.

"That was before I knew about what was really going on, I reckon if McCall can be an Alpha, the others have all kind of had a spectacular burn out. Besides, what are you going to do, scream and stomp your foot?" he asked, his eyes amused, and she gave him a sultry, deadly look.

"Oh...like you do when you don't get your way?" she retaliated, and he went a little red, and Danny rolled his eyes.

"Ok, I know you two have a whole load of leftover sexual tension but really? What's your plan Lydia?" he asked, and Kira waved her hand airily.

"Oh nothing too strenuous, just interrogate Peter Hale for answers that Martagh will probably give her without the death threat." She explained, and Danny looked at Lydia in shock.

"He's back?" he demanded, and she nodded grimly.

"Yeah, he's back. Don't ask me how I know, that's one of the questions I'm going to ask him. You up for it?" she asked hopefully, and Jackson looked at her incredulously.

"Seriously, that's your idea? Just bang on his door and demand answers?" he asked sniffily, clearly less than impressed but Lydia ignored him, she was short on patience, time and options, and she wanted answers.

"Have you told Scott he's back?" Danny asked, but to their surprise, it was Kira who shook her head.

"Better not, he's got his own crisis tonight, dealing with whatever happened to his grandma, she's fine though. No, we'll be enough. Are you two coming or what?" she asked, and Jackson nodded.

"Yeah. I'm Jackson by the way." He said with a self assured grin and she cocked her head at him.

"I'm Kira. Nice to meet you. I've heard of you...nothing good though." She commented and he spluttered a little in indignation as Lydia and Danny sniggered, following the kitsune to the car.

XX

The four teenagers were standing outside the door to Derek's loft, which none of them had been in since he had been arrested for murder. Now caught up on these events, Jackson was giving the door a look of trepidation, while Danny had one hand on his cattle prod and Kira had hers on her sword as a nervous Lydia, her heart hammering, knocked on the door, committing herself.

"This is a bad idea." Jackson muttered into Lydia's ear, and she scowled at him.

"Oh, this coming from you? You who dumped me because you thought I screwed up you becoming a werewolf, which you actively wanted to be in the first place because you didn't like Scott being better than you at lacrosse?" she hissed back and Kira turned to him in shock.

"Seriously, you wanted to become a werewolf so you would be better at lacrosse?" she demanded, and Danny grinned.

"No, he wanted to be a werewolf because he didn't like Scott being better than him and getting all the attention." He said, and Kira just shot Jackson a perplexed look, shaking her head.

"My mom always said boys and werewolves were asses. You're both." She muttered and Jackson turned to glare at her.

"Hey you don't get to judge me! Who are you anyway?" he demanded angrily and Kira turned back to face him just as the door slid open revealing Peter Hale, clad in a v-neck as usual, whose eyes flicked over them curiously and then he allowed himself a small smug smile.

"Well, if it isn't some Girl Scouts selling cookies. What can I do for you?" he asked, and Lydia glared at him.

"I want answers." She told him boldly, and he smirked.

"And you were afraid to come alone? Where's your little hunter friend, she was your bodyguard last time?" he asked callously, and Lydia glared at him.

"She's dead." She told him bluntly.

Whatever answer Peter had expected, that clearly hadn't been it. He took a step back in slight shock, which Lydia used to force her way into the apartment, the other three on her heels as he wrapped his head around this information. So, the little huntress was dead. While he couldn't deny that wouldn't make things slightly easier, and was rather well deserved considering what the Argents had done to his family, well, it was unexpected.

"When?" he asked curiously, and Lydia swirled to face him.

"Just after you vanished actually. The Oni killed her." She explained, and he processed this quietly, well that was certainly interesting.

"Well as it was clearly nothing to do with me, even though I get blamed for everything around here, I have to wonder why you're here." He said in malicious interest, his eyes glinting as he approached Lydia, and the sound of the cattle prod activating, making him turn around and regard Danny by surprise as he levelled the prod at him.

"Well, someone has grown some balls in my absence. As you brought the cavalry, I suppose you want something?" Peter asked, still keeping a suspicious eye on Danny's prod, and Lydia nodded.

"I want answers. For everything for once, no messing about or my highly strung friend over there," she said nodding at Jackson, "my ninja friend here," she indicated Kira, "and my archer friend over there are all going to make your day take a turn for the worse." Lydia vowed with a confidence she didn't really feel, which Peter must have figured out because all he did was laugh.

"Oh that is precious, our resident little Disney princess has brought her woodland friends to come and help her deal with the big bad wolf. And why would I want to help you? What's in it for me? See, I might not have been here but I know Derek is currently in prison for four murders which means he can't make me play ball, and I will never be Scott's beta even if he is a true Alpha, so you really have no capital to trade with my little pet." Peter purred, and Kira smiled innocently at him.

"Really? See, Danny has his prod, and I have my sword, and both of us wouldn't be adverse to poking you with it."

"And not in the good way." Danny quipped, earning him a surprised look from the others.

"Look she wants answers, because whatever you did to make her a banshee is now putting her in danger." Jackson growled, his claws extended and eyes glowing blue and Peter turned and favoured him with a small smile.

"And you're back Jackson...how nice. I wonder, what could make you want to come back here from your comfortable life in London?" Peter asked, his eyes searching Jackson for the answer.

He of course already knew the answer, after all, Jackson was integral to his plan, but they didn't need to know that. He also knew full well what Agravaine had done to his arm...and how long Jackson had left to live, well, roughly anyway.

"I felt a bit boxed in." Jackson answered seamlessly, and Peter had to suppress the urge to snort in amusement, he was good, there was no denying that.

"Look, we need help. Something is after me!" Lydia declared, bringing Peter's attention back to her, careful not to betray anything.

The Ghost Pack, as far as he knew, hadn't made a move yet, and they wouldn't move against Lydia actively, she would only be collateral damage, so what was she talking about?

"How typically teenage, the world doesn't revolve around you, you know." Peter chided and she glowered at him.

"I'm not being teenage. This thing, whatever it is, wants to kill me. According to the Scuffock that appeared claiming she's here to train me," she ranted, but Peter held up a hand, genuinely curious now.

"A Scuffock? Here?" he asked, and Kira nodded, looking at him suspiciously.

"Yes, why, do you know something about it?" she asked, her sword following him as he prowled the room.

Peter smiled in self satisfaction, yes, the news that a Scuffock was in town wasn't necessarily a problem, in fact, played right, it was an opportunity.

"Anyway, as I was saying, this Scuffock says that whatever is after me is the natural predator of the banshee, which, seeing as you were nice enough to turn me into one, you can tell me if you know anything about!" Lydia demanded, and Peter mused on this before he fixed Lydia with an unaffected glance.

"First of all, I didn't turn you into one, you already were one, all I did was...speed up the process a little bit. So, something is in town that's the natural enemy of a banshee? And your new Scuffock friend doesn't know what it is I take it?" he asked, which did make sense, after all, Scuffocks were Celtic creatures, originating from Britain, this natural predator was from South America, Argentina usually.

"No, all she knows is it's the natural predator of a banshee. It came down and stomped all of us, stealing our voices as she went. I want to know what is so we can stop it." Lydia said, her explanation all but confirming what he needed to identify this creature.

A Pombero, like he had thought. Yes they were natural predators of the banshee, but surely Lydia was too young a banshee to be bothered with yet? After all, she was still quite new to her powers, and if a Scuffock was here to train her, then she had only just registered on the world stage, much akin to her Alpha.

Either way, the Pombero being in town was something he could do without. Truth be told she shouldn't interfere with his plans, especially if she was focusing on Lydia, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be a hindrance rather than a help. And a Scuffock being in town, they were powerful opponents, and if this one was here to train Lydia then she was clearly one of the stronger ones, masters usually were.

It was an anomaly. But as with everything else, it was one he could turn to his advantage.

"So you came here wanting to know exactly what it is that's looking for you I take it?" he asked, and Lydia nodded.

"Yeah, and learning how I knew that you were back in town wouldn't go amiss either. And this Scuffock, basically, I want the skivvy on everything to do with being a banshee. I'm fed up of flailing around in the dark, seriously fed up, and I'm through finding bodies! I need to know." Lydia demanded, fire crackling from her, and Jackson glowered at him.

"Yeah, and you might explain where you were while we're at it, since you mysteriously vanished." He growled, and Peter hesitated a little.

No, he couldn't know, he'd have done something already if he figured out he had been with the Ghost Pack while Agravaine had been pumping him for every little bit of information he could get out of him. No, he was safe in that regard, he couldn't know.

Yes he could make this work to his advantage.

"And why on earth would I tell you all this?" he asked, ignoring the other three armed pack members and focusing solely on Lydia.

"You made me into a banshee, and I need help. Please!" Lydia begged, and he wondered how far he should take this, after all, Lydia would also be useful.

"Fine. You sensed when I got back to town because I bit you. It's like how when Derek was the Alpha, Isaac, Erica and Boyd would be able to know where he was, it acts as a homing beacon, to let you find your Alpha. Scott has it to an extent, but it's a little harder for his betas as they're all adopted, if he were to bite one himself they would know automatically where their Alpha was. As I bit you, I technically became your Alpha, so, as your powers grow, you will be able to sense where I am." He explained, and she seemed fairly content with that explanation, and now that he had explained that, it was time for the fun to begin.

"Great, so you're on my radar. And the rest?" Lydia demanded, her tone brisk, and Peter smiled.

"See Lydia, what you need to ask yourself is why I would give a narcisstic little teenager information that she really wants when she has the ability to get me something that I really want." He purred, and her eyes widened in slight alarm, and judging by the looks of incomprehension, the others had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

"Lydia, what does he mean?" Kira asked curiously, her sword now hanging loosely at her side, and the banshee glared at the wolf, who smirked at her impotence.

"Never mind. You know I'll never do that." She ground out to Peter, her eyes blazing as she leaned in close to him, and he chuckled, extending a couple of claws and stroking them through some of her hair, ignoring the snarl Jackson made behind him.

"Then we have a problem don't we? See, you have the ability to get me what I want. I have the knowledge and the ability to get you what you want, and not just the information, no, I know how to help you find something other than the bodies. So what will it be Lydia? Information and power in exchange for one little meeting?" he asked her softly, his soft voice blaring in her ears, as if he had her hypnotised.

Behind him the other three were poised to act, but she then shoved him away from her, glowering at him in disgust.

"I'll never do that." She vowed, and he smiled, raising his hands in defeat.

"Then I'm afraid I can't tell you what you need to know." He lamented, and she shook her head in impotent rage.

"You're a bastard Peter." She hissed, and he smiled.

"It has been said. So, you're sure about your choice? You won't do it?" he asked, and Danny, who had now drawn his bow and had an arrow pointed at Peter, looked at Lydia frantically.

"What the hell is he talking about?" he demanded, and realising she was beaten, Lydia gave Peter a final look of disgust.

"Never mind. Forget it." She snarled, and swept from the room, leaving the other three looking at each other in shock, though to their credit Danny and Kira were keeping their weapons trained on Peter.

"It'll happen eventually Lydia! And you have to ask yourself, can this Scuffock truly tell you everything? Does she really know everything?" he called as she swept away in a fury, her three bodyguards giving him a last look of disgust before slamming the door shut behind them.

Peter smiled as they left.

It had begun.

XX

Scott put the last of the bloodstained rags in the bucket outside the house, feeling relieved. His grandmother was now officially on the chessboard, and, to their surprise, had coped with the news about the supernatural rather well. After having been attacked by a headless dog zombie, he supposed her mind had been rather more open than it would have been previously. As a result, with frequent interruptions from the twins, Isaac, his mother, the sheriff and Parrish, Allegra was now on the chessboard, and was clued in on everything that had happened up till that point.

Well, he hoped she was. After explaining about Peter, she had asked for them to stop and let her go to bed while she got her mind around it all, which they had agreed to. He looked up at the room where she was staying, hearing her heartbeat if he strained. It was slightly excited, but considering the day she had had, and the gin she had consumed, he wasn't surprised. He frowned worriedly, he just hoped that the initial acceptance she had shown would last till morning. It was a lot to take in, for anyone who hadn't known about it beforehand. And to be fair, she had nearly been killed by a headless dog zombie, she had had one hell of an introduction to it all, his mother's had been much tamer, well, other than watching him get shot by Matt. His grandmother's had been a lot worse, and to him, the thing that was making it worse was that they still didn't know exactly what had attacked her. Deaton had texted and said he was doing a last few tests and would have a certain answer in the morning, but still, he didn't like that he'd had to involve her in all this. His mother learning about all this had been bad enough, and he remembered that time when she would barely look at him, when she had encouraged him to let Gerard do what he wanted just to try and maintain the illusion of normalcy. Was it so wrong wanting his grandmother to remain separate from it?

But she was involved in it now, whether he liked it or not. He just hoped she really was coping with it, and wasn't seriously freaking out up there behind closed doors.

"Hello." A voice said behind him as he considered her room.

Scott struggled to prevent himself from turning around with claws out and eyes glowing the woman's voice had given him such a fright. Digging his nails into his palm to make sure they weren't claws, he turned to find himself face to face with a woman who looked to be around the same age as his grandmother. She had a slightly weathered face which still managed to look fairly youthful, and she had medium length curly light blond hair, and piercing brown eyes. She laughed slightly, patting his arm.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you." She said in amusement, and he breathed heavily, waving her off.

"It's ok, you just made me need to change my pants. Can I help?" he asked, and she smiled, looking up and down the road.

"Well, I hope so. I do. You see, me and my friends are new in town, and we were just wondering if you could give us some clue as to where the vet surgery is?" she asked hopefully, and he smiled.

"Sure, I work there, it's just off Cedar Street." He told her, and she smiled.

"Good, that's a load off my mind. Sorry again to have frightened you." She said kindly, but there was something that didn't quite make her eyes in that kindness.

"It's ok. If you want to give me a shout when you're in, I'm Scott." He said, extending his hand and she smiled, taking it and shaking it.

And to his surprise, the hair on his arm prickled as she did so.

"Bonnie. Well, I hope to see you at the vet Scott."

Scott rubbed his arm, confused by his reaction, it felt like the werewolf part of him was trying to recoil from her, but why. And then he got a strange scent off of her, kind of like...decay.

"Yeah me too. What sort of animal have you got?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Oh, dogs. Lots and lots of dogs." She said with an odd expression on her face.

"Great. So, I'll see you." He said, and she nodded.

"Oh yes. I suspect you will. After all...I expect we'll be getting a lot more dogs before this is over." She said softly as she headed down the street before becoming shrouded in mist.

Despite himself, Scott shuddered. That woman had seemed nice enough, but there was just something, well, off about her. He saw no reason why the wolf part of him was freaking out, but it was, and that had never happened before, not even with the Nogitsune. But other than giving him a fright, she hadn't even done anything, she was just a newcomer to town with a lot of dogs, who she obviously cared about, enough to go looking for the vets in the darkness.

Strange, but nothing freaky certainly.

He was just being silly. But still, that didn't stop him lamenting the fact that he had dismissed the twins and sent them home.

But he had something better, a tall, hot blond boyfriend who was waiting to cuddle into him so he could get warm.

With that thought comforting him, he headed inside, not noticing the shining killer blue eyes of Bonnie down at the end of the street, an unfathomable expression on her face.

XX

"So do we get to find out what that was all about?" Danny asked from the back of Kira's car.

"Yeah, you just sort of clammed up, I thought you wanted answers." Kira said, but she was really hoping Lydia would spill the beans and tell her what the hell Peter had been after.

"Lydia? What did he want?" Jackson asked, discreetly checking his reflection in the window as Kira drove them back to Danny's.

Lydia looked determinedly out of the window, wondering whether or not she should tell them. The only other person she had told was Allison, and now she was gone. But now that Peter was back, it suddenly seemed like it would be a good idea to tell other people. Especially if, as she suspected, he was now determined to get his hands on Malia no matter what the cost, she needed someone else on her side, someone else who knew.

"He wants me to introduce him to his daughter." She told them grimly, and Kira braked suddenly, earning her a blaring of the horn from the car behind.

"What?" she demanded, giving the man who had honked at her the finger as he gestured at her wildly, yelling about women drivers.

"He has a daughter, and he wants me to tell her about him." She told him as the car just sat there in the middle of the street.

"Well, why don't you? I mean I don't like the thought of him having a kid but still." Jackson said, and Lydia took a deep breath, she was doing it, she had to do it now, otherwise she never would do it.

"Because if I tell his child who they really are, it could easily tear apart the entire pack." She concluded grimly and the entire pack looked at her, shocked by this pronouncement.

And then, unbidden, something flashed in Kira's mind, two faces running simultaneously, and for the first time, she noticed their many similarities. Two faces, one Peter's, the other...

"Oh my god." She breathed in shock, and Lydia nodded.

"Exactly! I know Scott wouldn't care, he's Scott, but everyone else? Considering what Peter's done? And let's face it, Stiles is a lot more judgemental than he likes to think he is, if I tell her, if I tell everyone, it would destroy him, destroy them!" she cried, kneading her forehead with her fingers.

"Wait, what am I missing?" Jackson asked, severely thrown by this, someone in the pack was Peter's daughter?

"It's Malia." Danny breathed in shock.

"Who's Malia?" Jackson demanded, clueless.

"Stiles girlfriend." Kira supplied, the full weight of the implication settling in.

"Stiles has a girlfriend? How did that happen?" Jackson demanded, and Danny leaned back, flabbergasted.

"It's worse, she isn't just Stiles girlfriend, or even the girl living as a coyote for eight years." He summed up, and Kira nodded slowly, hardly daring to believe it.

"He's right."

"That's why I didn't tell him. I can't tell him, if Malia ever finds out, we risk losing the entire pack, we'll rip it apart, all of us!" Lydia cried fearfully, and Jackson, at a loss for something to do, patted her shoulder.

"How is one girl capable of destroying the entire pack?" he asked in disbelief, and Kira gave him a small humourless smile.

"Because Malia isn't who she thinks she is, she isn't who anyone thinks she is. Malia isn't a Tate. She's a Hale. She's Peter's daughter."

Jackson's mouth opened in slight surprise as the entire car went silent, as the full weight of the implication sank in.

**And that people is the end of episode 2!**

**So, more questions abound. What is Peter up to? Will Allegra cope with the supernatural? Is Jackson's life in danger? Will Malia find out about her father? What are the Ghost Pack up to? Loads still to discover, but we are officially a sixth of the way through the episodes, and there's plenty more to come!  
**

**Next episode we have the Teen Wolf version of the Battle of Five Armies, Jackson with his kit off, sadly grandma leaves us, Kate makes a return, Liam stumbles into the supernatural, the Ghost Pack makes a bold move and we have lots of special guest appearances by some familiar characters, and what we all live for, Scott being badass and adorable all in the same episode!**

**As its the end of the episode, I would love to hear what you think so far, so please favourite, follow and review**

**And alas, I have bad news. Very soon, I shall no longer be working Sunday nights. Which sadly means...I have more time to write! All my evenings will now be free, barring mishap, to write further stories, so hopefully updates will be that tiny bit more frequent. And best of all, I'll never have to clean the oven again**

**Also, due to the way my mind works, I'd really appreciate it if you lent a hand. I'm giving you the choice to decide three future pack members to appear in later seasons, so head on over to my profile and cast your votes, I'll be very appreciative!**

** u/1246833/lordtrayus#**

**So, hope you enjoy the chapter, feedback is appreciated and remember to vote in the poll!**


	12. Episode 3: Revenant Part 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"It was the way he treated me." Deaton complained, and Melody gave him a supremely bored look.

"My dear Deaton, I'm beginning to think that you've forgotten your place during your long tenure here. You are a slave! Which means that people like me, Scott, every creature in this town is perfectly at liberty to treat you as such. And considering who Scott is, I strongly doubt he was doing it to be malicious, he treated you in such a way because he wants answers, answers which I seem to remember ordering you to give him without the usual rigmarole!" she snapped angrily, her eyes blazing, and Deaton sighed, he was getting incredibly fed up of being treated like this.

"I didn't give him a concrete answer because I didn't have one, I only had suspicions. I'm still his boss." He reminded her as he examined the dog corpse on his table, thankful that Dexio didn't start until the afternoon, then he could get to know Scott as well.

Melody quirked an eyebrow at him in amusement.

"You may be his boss here, but what makes you think when he discovers the truth he'll be different from any other creature? I know he's your little pet project, but considering how much his precious pack already resents you, I wouldn't be surprised if you were treated as you should be." She said sweetly, enjoying watching him trying to control his temper as he worked.

He stayed stonily silent for a while, Melody relishing in his discomfort until she finally spoke again.

"You called me here because you think there's some other player in town, who happens to be involved in this beast appearing, so what is it?" she asked, bored, and Deaton made a small noise of understanding.

"I think he's whist." He summed up, and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"A whist? That's far beyond the skill of anyone in this town." She said, all business suddenly, and he nodded grimly.

"Quite right. No werewolf has this sort of power, this is dangerous dark power. Very dangerous. The ability to create whists requires two things, a connection of some sort to death, and a way to make the power itself come to the fore. A werewolf can't tap into their power that way, most creatures can't. Their power is within, it only erupts outwards rarely. No, this isn't a werewolf. Something else has done this, created this abomination." He explained, and Melody looked at the dead whist musingly.

"So...this isn't the work of the Pombero in town then?" she asked, and Deaton shook his head.

"No, well, I'm mostly certain it isn't. While the Pombero can use the power within her and force it outwards, she doesn't have the necessary connection to death that she would need to create this." He explained, and the princess was silent, considering what to do.

"Tell Scott about this. Whatever this thing is that's creating these whists, they are flaunting our laws. On top of that, if they are here, they most likely intend to do something to Scott. That will annoy my mother on top of creating whists. So, whatever you need to do to make sure he stays alive and well, do so. Tell him about the whists, about the Pombero, and make sure he stays alive." She ordered coldly, and Deaton allowed himself a small smile.

"As if I would let him die." He told her, and she fixed him with an annoyed look.

"No but you would let his pack die, and we want all of them alive as far as possible. So, tell him, and if not...well, you better hope creating a whist is all they can do." She warned darkly and swept from the room, leaving Deaton glaring at her back.

But, that did raise a good point actually. While creating a whist was a dark enough process at the best of times, far beyond anyone in town (though he wouldn't put it past Peter to know how to do it), the fact that they had raised a dog from the dead, making it into the foul creature he was now studying, it was slightly alarming. After all, to create a whist, one needed a dead dog, and then, as part of the ritual, the creator would then decapitate the poor thing and infuse it with malevolent energies. If they could do that, it stood to reason they would not stop at just dogs.

And now, the rising malevolence he and Melody both felt in town was getting stronger. It was subtle, creeping, like mist, but it was there. A dark energy was beginning to seep into town, and it had gotten stronger since they had first seen it. He sighed wearily, he had figured it would only be a certain amount of time before something else appeared in town, and now it actually had happened, and whatever it was, had some form of power over the dead.

He sighed. He would do as Melody ordered, not for the stuck up little princess, but for Scott. He had to know the danger he was in before it was too late. But, he thought as he looked at the dog's corpse, perhaps it would be best to bury the whist, one to lay the poor dog to rest, and secondly...to make sure the damn thing stayed down.

As such, figuring alerting as to what he was dealing with could wait till morning to at least give him time to break the news to his grandmother, and also to take steps should the whist rise again, he fetched a shovel from the storeroom and used an empty carry cage to carry the unfortunate beast out of his surgery, realising grimly that this whist would only be the first of many.

XX

Hollis was standing above an apartment building in the city, the wind ruffling at him. Agravaine was here. He could feel him, down below, somewhere in the city, the putrid scent of the beast lingering over the town.

The first whist had been created and now, there would be more. When Agravaine created one of the abominations, he always made more, and in a town like this, he seriously doubted he would just stop at dogs. No, Agravaine was here for the long haul.

Hollis winced, coughing a little, his bones killing him. Very soon he would need to admit defeat and spend all his time in his owl form, if he didn't, he would just die quicker. Ironic, the thing that was killing him, his other form, would be the thing that kept him alive that little bit longer, to get revenge against Agravaine, against his pack, against his entire foul species if he could.

Jessica would be avenged. Niall would be avenged.

He suddenly tensed, hearing a sound of one of the hated beasts. There seemed to be a ruckus going on down below. Grunting in pain and weariness as he transformed, he looked down with his owl eyes, seeing much more than he would as a human, and saw the source of the commotion.

A cat was being tormented by a gang of youths, the cat quivering and hissing beneath a bin, swiping at the ferocious, vicious dogs that were trying to capture it while the cackling skin headed youths egged their dogs on, laughing, one of them with a firework in his hand, clearly meant for the cat.

Hollis gave a terrible screech and descended, eyes glowing viciously as he did so, and as he ripped the throat out of the first dog, a bull terrier, slashing it to pieces, it gave a pitying whine.

The boys screamed and tried to run, the other two dogs biting at his wings and his tail feathers, but he was too powerful for that, his large, taloned feet rending the Doberman in two while he used his beak to rip a hole in the final dog, the Rottweiler's head.

The three screaming youths were nearly to the end of the alley, but they were no match for a creature like him, and with a vicious screech, he sped up the alleyway, beak, claws and talons ripping them apart and ending their lives as blood splattered the walls and their screams died in their throats.

XX

The next morning dawned bright and frosty, and it was the early morning that found the sheriff and Parrish standing in the graveyard, scarves around their necks and gloves on their hands as their puzzled officers observed the problem.

"According to the owner, he came in this morning and found them all like this." Claris, the new young deputy reported, her face confused as she looked out at the crime scene.

The sheriff and Parrish however, being slightly more clued in to what happened in town than she was, were not quite so sanguine.

The caretaker had come in this morning to discover that several of the graves had been dug up since the day before. What surprised him most of all was how clean the entire process was, it was like the entire thing had been done methodically, to make as little mess as possible. But as it stood there were now six empty graves dotted throughout the graveyard.

"There aren't any prints or anything, nothing to explain it. What sort of sick freak would come along and dig up bodies?" Claris demanded, looking nauseated and John clapped her shoulder.

"Welcome to Beacon Hills deputy, where sick freaks and bizarre murders are the norm. And I know from experience there's no CCTV anywhere near here." He said grimly, and Parrish looked at him curiously.

"How come? Someone dig up a body then too?" he asked, and John smiled.

"Technically, Derek pulled Isaac out of a grave, apparently Jackson knocked him in when he was...when he wasn't feeling quite himself." The sheriff said, relaxing a little as Claris seemed to accept this as a good explanation.

"Do you have that list of the bodies that were dug up?" she asked the owner, and he nodded.

"Yes, I can't think of anything that links them, other than they were all buried within a year, well other than that one." He said, pointing to the name at the bottom of the list and she looked at it, as did John, who, upon realising what names were on it, ripped the sheet from her hand, making her yelp.

"Ow, what did I ever do to you?" she demanded, sucking the paper cuts she had just been given.

"This isn't coincidence." John said grimly, showing Parrish, who took one look at it and groaned.

"Great." He said with false cheer, as Claris looked between the two, demanding answers.

"What's so worrying, well, other than what someone might be doing to those corpses?" she asked, and John was about to answer when his phone rang, and answering it, he quickly took the call from Elba, who had been called out with Haigh to investigate something else.

"Wonderful. Three more murders, courtesy of the same assailant as last time, and by the looks of things, their three dogs were killed too. And the only witness is one very shell shocked cat." He griped, rubbing his eyes wearily, that was all they needed.

"The dogs dying..." Parrish said suggestively, as Claris was still looking between them as if they were both crazy, which to be fair they probably seemed to her.

"Means we could have two very sick individuals running around town, just another day at the office for us then. Alright, Claris, if you clear up here, we can go and check out these bodies, that sound alright?" John asked, hating that he and Parrish kept having to dance around the truth like this, especially when it was his officers that would be in the firing line.

"Sure." Claris said, giving them a last odd look before she returned her attention to the owner.

"You know, eventually, they're all going to lock us up." Parrish commented as they got into the car, and John sighed wearily.

"This isn't like you, believe me I'd love nothing more than to bring them all onto the chessboard but this is different, they haven't been attacked, they just think we're, well, nutters really. No, we play this close to our chests, and now, by the looks of things, we have someone going around offing people and their dogs, and on top of that we've got someone who's dug up some graves, and considering who everyone was..."

"It's not random coincidence. Someone's targeting them. We need to warn Scott." Parrish said as he turned on the sirens, and John nodded.

"I agree, but first we need to know more, so let's find out what happened to those bodies before we bring the kids into it. They have enough on their plates right now." John said grimly as Parrish drove them towards the latest victims of the supernatural.

XX

"Morning boys." Allegra said, nursing a cup of tea as they entered the room and Scott looked at his grandmother hesitantly.

"How are you doing?" he asked nervously, and invisible from Allegra's view Isaac squeezed his hand soothingly, and Allegra smiled.

"I'm fine. Well, as fine as one who just found out her grandson is a werewolf, another kid who is effectively her grandson is a nogitsoon and the rest of the supernatural exists." She said, sipping her, but other than looking slightly tired, she seemed to be accepting it, must be an old cop thing, nothing seemed to faze her.

"Nogitsune." Isaac corrected automatically, passing Scott his Lucky Charms without a word said between them, Allegra watching their silent breakfast routine with interest.

"So, you're ok with it?" Scott asked nervously, as he threw the butter over his shoulder, Isaac catching it seamlessly, though he was sure he heard his grandmother mutter than they were show offs as he sat down.

"Yes dear. I mean, it's a bit to get used to, but I've accepted everything else, if I can accept that my daughter marrying an imbecile, I can accept my favourite grandson being a gay werewolf." She said fondly, kissing his head (feeling rather glad that he had just done his usual spiky fringe style today) as she got up to make herself some more tea, which Isaac boiled the kettle for without even looking round, making Allegra give him a surprised look.

"How do you do that?" she asked in shock and he grinned.

"Just that good." He said cheerfully, sitting down beside Scott, who eyed down his boyfriend's scarf necked top interestedly, before Allegra smiled and waved a reproving finger at him.

"Oi, no sexy stuff at the table young man, if I didn't let your mother do things with her many romantic partners I'm not going to let you do it either. We eat off this table." She said with dignity, putting her two sugars in the cup as Melissa joined them, shooting her mother a dirty look.

"There weren't that many." She said sniffily, and Allegra looked thoughtful.

"Well there was the boy from down the road, that specky, spotty newspaper boy, that boy who turned out to be a girl," she listed, Scott looking between his mortified mother and his grandmother in delight while Isaac sniggered into his peanut butter and nutella sandwich, "that girl who turned out to be a boy, that boy who left you tied up naked at a crime scene for me to find..."

"MOTHER!" Melissa yelled in outrage, completely scarlet as the boys cackled madly with laughter.

"Then there was all the college boyfriends, the one who broke your heart, the one who," she continued before Melissa stuck a hand over her mouth, glaring at her furiously.

"Thank you mother, isn't it time motor mouthed old women ate their breakfast silently?" she hissed as Scott wiped tears from his eyes, and Allegra shrugged before sitting down at the table.

"What did the last one do?" Scott whispered and Allegra smirked and leaned close while Melissa had her head in the fridge.

"Let's just say there were three in the bed and none of them said roll over." She whispered, and Melissa, hearing her mother, jerked up out of the fridge, looking furious.

"Mother!" she yelled as the boys continued shaking with laughter, but Allegra only winked and tucked into her cereal.

"So now that you've successfully revealed my high school love life," Melissa ground out waspishly, "how are you doing?" she asked in genuine concern and Allegra sighed, poking at her bran, eating the raisins out of it first.

"Well, admittedly it is a lot to take in. You also spend all night thinking of what cases possibly involved supernatural creatures, and the number I can even think of is alarming so I won't go any further down that road, like that poor child who's parent's were killed by what could only be a creature sixteen years ago and he was abandoned, covered in their blood on the side of the road, but...I actually think it's alright. I mean there have to be advantages to having werewolf grandkids right?" she asked, and Isaac was about to point out that she only had one werewolf grandkid when a smiling Scott nuzzled him a little, and Isaac went pink, realising what she meant.

"Oh, you mean the crippling fear that whatever fresh hell there is in town will rip my kids to shreds, the fear that someone looks at Isaac or Stiles funny and Scott will rip their heads off, the fact that the supernatural crap affects their schoolwork, the murders bringing my ass ex husband to town to stick his nose in, for my mother to be attacked by dog zombies, all that?" Melissa summed up briskly, and Allegra nodded.

"Well yes. And your ex husband is currently facing a disciplinary for incompetence, not that I'm surprised, so that's one benefit to him sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong." She said savagely and Isaac grinned.

After all, despite his promise to Scott, Rafe McCall had still hardly been a sterling father. Yes he phoned and talked every week, asked about his grades, about lacrosse, about his mother, and then spent the rest of the time talking about the proceedings which were taking even longer than he'd made the sheriff's one take. However, other than the basic pass of being a father, he didn't care and was clearly more interested in his hearing than Scott, and hadn't asked about how he was dealing with Allison's death, about Stiles, Isaac, or even his grandmother (not that he would, the two loathed one another).

"So you're ok?" Scott asked hopefully, and Allegra nodded.

"Yes dear, I'll be fine. In its own way it is quite impressive having a werewolf as a grandson. Pity I can't tell my bridge meetings, they'd be jealous. Ah well. So let me get this straight, you two and the twins are all werewolves, and you're the leader of the local pack?" she asked, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, I'm the Alpha and Isaac is my prime beta which means he's my second in command. Jackson is a wolf too." Scott explained, and Allegra looked at him in confusion.

"Wait I thought he was a Kilimanjaro or something like that?" she asked, and Isaac grinned.

"A kanima, a were snake lizard thing." He said, and she rubbed her head wearily.

"And now he's a wolf? I shall take notes." She said, pulling a notepad from her back pocket and beginning to jot it all down.

"So we still don't know what attacked her last night?" Melissa asked Isaac as Allegra had Scott check her spelling, then told her off for spelling his own name wrong.

"Seriously, every year, every card, only one 'T', it has two 'T's!" he yelled and Allegra winked at Isaac as Melissa sniggered.

"No, headless zombies are a new one for us." He said, and Melissa sighed.

"Is it too much to hope for that we've seen the last of whatever it is?" she asked, and Scott was checking his grandmother's progress when his phone rang, and he put the phone on the table activating the speaker as he did it.

"I think we're about to find out. Morning." Scott said, rolling his eyes as he saw both Melissa and Isaac glare at the name on the phone, Isaac growling as he saw the name.

"Good morning to you too Isaac," Deaton said cheerfully, making Isaac scowl, "I have news." He explained, and Allegra perked up.

"You know what it is that attacked me?" she asked, and if he was surprised by her presence in the conversation he didn't let it be known.

"Yes, I was right in my initial suspicions. It was a whist that attacked you." He explained, as if that was meant to have some sort of significance to the rest of them.

"And what exactly is a whist?" Melissa asked, her face clouded.

"I believe it to be a creature descended from British myths and legends. In essence, it is a zombie, well a dog zombie, which had been mutilated and warped by some malevolent power in order to turn them into a sort of foot soldier for whoever is behind the ritual that created it in the first place. Something very dark is in town." He explained and Isaac and Scott exchanged a weary glance before Scott pressed on ahead.

"Is it the same thing that attacked us to get to Lydia?" Scott asked, and he could visualise the vet shaking his head.

"No, from what you described to me, she sounds like she is a Pombero. While she has access to the power and is able to convert it in such a way that it could be her, I strongly doubt it is her, it's not her sort of thing for a kick off, and her power, while possible, would be very difficult to use to create a whist." He explained, and Isaac was already texting Argent, asking him to confirm what Deaton was telling them since everything he told them was suspect until further notice.

"Great, some other fresh hell. So what do we know about these whists, how do we stop them, how do we stop them killing dogs and creating them?" Scott asked, and Isaac hesitated in his texting for a second, admiring the little inflection in his boyfriend's voice, worrying about the dogs.

Deaton made a thoughtful sound as he considered the question.

"Hmm, I don't know the intricacies of creating whists," he said, and Scott was profoundly glad he couldn't see the sceptical looks on Isaac and his mother's faces, "but if there is any information, any possible way to track them, there might be mention of it in the bestiary." He mused, and Scott sighed.

"Yeah well that doesn't help us much, Lydia's the only one out of all of us who can understand Latin, and with everything else we have to do, she doesn't have much time to translate hundreds of pages of Latin just for obscure little bits of information about whatever new thing is in town." He told him grumpily, and Deaton sighed.

"Well unless Lydia can afford to dedicate more time to translating the bestiary..."

"I can translate Latin." Allegra interjected, and everyone in the room looked at her in shock.

"Wait, what?" Melissa asked in shock, and Allegra smiled.

"I was at school rather a while dear so I was taught Latin there. I mean I know the subject is virtually useless but I always enjoyed it. I can translate the book into English for you if you want sweetheart. It'll take me a while, but I can do it." She told Scott, who was now looking at her like she was the messiah.

"Seriously, you can translate the entire bestiary for us?" he asked excitedly, and Isaac shared the excitement, for a change they wouldn't be stumbling around in the dark trying to figure out what they were dealing with, everything would be in English and understandable.

"Yes, and it's actually quite a good idea, helps me get to grips with your world faster. Well, guess what I'm doing today while you two are at school." She said, and Scott grinned.

"I'll get it for you. Will you be ok?" he asked, and she arced an eyebrow at him.

"I think, barring any more attacks by vicious whists, I ought to be fine. Go to school and you missy go to work."

"I meant with the computer." Scott said with a slight grin, and she deflated slightly, before waving her hand dismissively.

"It's fine, I'll go to the library, they can help me there. I'm quite excited about helping actually. Now, get me what I need then off to school with you." She ordered, and as Scott bid Deaton goodbye and the boys went upstairs to get their stuff and the bestiary file for Allegra, she looked at her daughter curiously.

"Why does Isaac not like Deaton?" she asked in interest, and Melissa gave her a grim smile.

"He doesn't trust him, none of the pack do. He was the reason Stiles got possessed, he was the reason Scott and Isaac broke up, he was willing to let Aiden die, he never gives the kids everything they need when they need it and a lot more people get hurt or die because of it. I don't trust him either, he knew what Stiles was going through and just sat back and let it happen. He saved Scott, true, but like Isaac, I'm beginning to think that was more about him than anyone else." She said grimly, and she saw her mother's face assume an expression of cold calculation.

"Really? That is interesting now isn't it? Wait, he broke Scott and Isaac up?" she demanded indignantly and Melissa smiled, resigning herself to catching her up on her son's love life (if only to try and recover some of the ground her big mouthed mother had lost her this morning) before work.

XX

"So she'll translate the entire bestiary?" Stiles asked as he lounged against Scott's locker, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, who knew grandma was good at Latin? We'll finally be able to figure out what the hell we're dealing with without waiting for Deaton to get his finger out and tell us." He said, rummaging in his locker for his economics stuff.

"So the thing after Lydia is a Pombero?" Aiden asked, and Scott nodded.

"Seems to be. Still leaves us figuring out what the hell else attacked you but at least we know what the other things we've met are now." He reasoned as Isaac nodded, looking pensive.

"Yeah and that's all very well and good, but who was controlling the whist? Just once it would be nice to figure out who and what the big bad is before the body count starts climbing." He said, and Stiles looked at his phone hesitantly, making Scott groan.

"What, are we too late?" he demanded anxiously, and Stiles nodded grimly.

"There was another triple murder this morning, also killing the dogs while he was at it. On the plus side, they rescued the shell shocked cat that the three thugs were trying to run down with their dogs and strap a firework to." He told them, and Isaac sniffed in approval, feeling that they had kind of been asking for it.

"The Pombero?" Ethan asked curiously, and Stiles shrugged.

"Doesn't say, but the last one was ripped apart, so that's claws, not whip or voice stealing if you ask me." He reasoned, and Ethan was about to reply when he saw Danny enter the school, his ears perking up a little as he did so...until Mason followed him in, chatting fluently.

Ethan looked at the two of them, at his boyfriend, talking happily with Mason and a low menacing growl escaped his throat, they were only meant to be taking a break, and here was Danny already sidling up to another gay guy, how was that fair, last time he'd had his back turned he'd rushed back to his ex, and now this?

"He isn't trying to replace you." Scott assured him and Ethan glowered at him resentfully.

"How can you tell?" he demanded, and Scott smiled grimly.

"Because I'm using my ears rather than my cock. They're talking about the Walking Dead, you don't need to worry. Danny isn't like that." He assured his beta, who harrumphed but stayed where he was as Danny and Mason hung out by his locker.

"He ran back to his ex fast enough." Ethan moaned bitterly, and Isaac rolled his eyes.

"Which I told you was because you leaving without an explanation messed him up totally. He needs time, so the best thing you can do is just step back and let him deal with it, think about it from his perspective, he naively thought you were cute and sweet before he found out, it's got to be hard reconciling that." He told him calmly, and Ethan continued brooding, but at least he looked a little happier about it.

"If Danny's back, who's babysitting Jackson?" Lydia asked as she came around the corner, Malia and Kira on her heels, and Scott grinned humourlessly.

"Don't worry, poor mom has the pleasure of his company this morning, we have to try and hide what's going on with his arm somehow, so she's fitting him for a bandage and having another few pokes at it. If you ask me she just likes stabbing him with needles." He explained and Isaac and Stiles grinned, silently agreeing that it couldn't happen to a nicer person.

"So who do we reckon's behind the attack on your grandma?" Kira asked curiously, and Scott shrugged.

"No idea but according to Deaton it takes serious power to create a whist, power unlike we've seen apparently. And call me cynical but I don't think they were after grandma, I think they were just scouting out the house, seeing what it could see. Well it doesn't have a head, but you know what I mean." Scott said, and Kira exchanged a silent glance with Lydia, who shrugged, giving a brief nod, knowing she wouldn't spill the beans about Malia.

"Could Peter create a whist?" she asked hesitantly, and Scott shrugged.

"I don't know, Deaton reckons werewolves can't do it...mind you, if any werewolf could it would be him." He said in distaste, and the others had to admit that was a fair point.

"Well it's just, he's back." Lydia broached before her nerve failed her, and as expected, Scott gave a low threatening growl, his eyes flashing red as he did so.

"Peter's back? Since when?" he demanded, and she shrugged.

"I don't know, I only registered that he was back yesterday, and he wasn't spilling the beans about anything I wanted to know, so we left." She said in distaste, and Aiden looked at her in alarm.

"Wait, you went to Peter's without any sort of back up?" he demanded frantically, and she shot him an exasperated look.

"I'm not stupid Aiden, I know everything he's done, remember, he drove me crazy? Of course I didn't go alone, Kira came with me and so did Danny and Jackson." She said, but at the mere mention of Jackson doing the job he used to do made Aiden scowl furiously, but Scott had other considerations.

"You shouldn't have gone to see him. Did he tell you where he's been?" he asked suspiciously, and Lydia shook her head.

"Nope, unfortunately, he didn't tell us anything of interest. But now, we know what's after me, so I don't need to go back there, it's fine." She said, though Kira looked less than convinced, after all, Peter seemed pretty determined to get his hands on Malia, and regardless, he would find a way to get what he wanted even if Lydia didn't play ball.

"Either way it seems kind of suspicious doesn't it that Peter shows up in town just as some flying guy with claws, the Pombero and a whist all show up at the same time?" Stiles asked, smiling as he saw Malia walking towards them.

Kira cocked her head at her friend as she approached. It was hard to believe that she was actually Peter's daughter, but regardless of that, Lydia was right. If the rest of the pack found out she was Peter's child there was no telling what would happen, or who would be affected in the fallout.

"Hey." She said happily, Stiles kissing her in greeting.

"Hey yourself. Looking forward to maths?" he asked brightly, and she shot him a lethal glare that made him shut up.

"Don't worry Malia, we've got cheerleader tryouts later, my mom's doing them now since the old one got offered a job teaching ballet classes." Lydia informed her, and Malia nodded, ignoring the look of excitement on Stiles face.

"Wait, you're joining the cheerleading team?" he asked excitedly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, I'm trying out for it, they might not even let me in considering how crap I am at maths." She complained, and Kira patted her shoulder.

"It's alright, we'll all help you with maths. Besides, Lydia can just nag her mom otherwise. By the way, my dad's buying himself a flag so he can cheer for us at our first game." She complained and Scott grinned.

"Aww bless him, he's going to be yelling your name so loud everyone will know who you are!" he teased and she hung her head in dismay as the others laughed at her impending humiliation.

"Hey, least you have someone to cheer for you, most of the time Isaac and I need to steal Melissa to cheer for us." Stiles told her, his mind lingering over the thought of Malia wearing the cheerleader uniform.

Seeing this, Lydia clicked her fingers in front of his face, bringing him back to reality, his face slightly red.

"Sorry." He mumbled, and Aiden looked at him hopefully.

"Hey, since you're still on the light side of the force," he said, earning him a dirty look from Scott, Isaac and Ethan, "how about we go and check out the cheerleader tryouts later?" he asked with a grin, and Stiles looked as if he was about to agree when a steely glare from Malia quickly made him shut up.

"Um, can't, I think I just got plans made for me." He lamented and Malia and Lydia grinned at each other as he hung his head sadly, Scott and Isaac sniggering at him.

Aiden sighed in annoyance.

"I need straight friends." He complained and Ethan grinned, leaning close to his brother.

"Well you do have your man crush, why not focus on that?" he whispered playfully, and Aiden gave a low growl that made his sniggering brother back off, his man crush was nonexistent, it was only in Ethan's head, well, mostly.

"Have we got practice today?" Aiden asked hopefully, and Scott shook his head.

"No, I've got work." He replied, and Isaac grinned.

"Yeah it's the one day a week where I get peace to watch cartoons without him asking stupid questions. Sheer bliss." Isaac said with a grin, and Scott sent him a dirty look while Stiles nodded sagely.

"Yeah, too right. He's always done that. I remember a very long conversation why I had to explain why Ash was still the same age he was when he started the series. That's an hour of my life I'm never getting back." He lamented and Kira giggled while Scott glared at him too.

"I hate you guys." He complained, and Kira patted his shoulder.

"Well I don't hate you, dad was threatening to come and watch me practice. He's going to destroy my life." She moaned hanging her head in despair, however she perked up a second later as another voice joined the group.

"Hey guys." Liam said happily, Garrett at his heels and Kira turned and smiled at him, making him avoid her eyes and scuff his toes nervously.

"Good! You're straight right?" Aiden asked hopefully, and Liam looked at him as if he were crazy and nodded.

"Um, yeah, why?" he asked, completely thrown.

"Want to come check out the cheerleader tryouts with me?" he asked brightly, and Lydia looked at him, thoroughly bemused.

"Seriously?" she asked in disbelief and he gave her a falsely sweet smile.

"Well, seeing as the girl I was dating dumped me for no good reason, and she was already checking out guys at the swim team tryouts, I might as well check out girls at the cheerleader tryouts." He said bitterly, and Lydia did look slightly taken aback.

"And besides, every normal straight guy goes to check out the cheerleader tryouts, just like we always go and check out the swimming tryouts." Danny explained as he and Mason approached, Mason clapping Garrett's shoulder in greeting.

"Um, no, I can't, I've got...stuff to do." Liam muttered, going red and determinedly avoiding a curious Kira's gaze.

"Oh for...Garrett, you're straight right?" he asked hopefully, and Mason nodded sadly.

"Yep, I've tried to convince him to see the light but he remains stubbornly straight." He complained, and Garrett grinned.

"Come on, you and I can go and scout for girls at the cheerleader tryouts!" Aiden said excitedly, and Garrett laughed and nodded.

"Sure, I was going to go anyway, and Liam never goes, and he kind of cramps my style, who cares about hot when there's cute and cuddly beside me?" he asked, messing up Liam's slightly messy hair and he glared at Garrett, swatting at him as he and Mason laughed.

"Awesome!" Aiden said excitedly, and Ethan cocked his head.

"Aww cute, Aiden made a friend." He teased, and Aiden grinned.

"Well more than you've done. Come on, you need to be my wingman." He said and Lydia looked at him, looking slightly put out.

"What, now?" she asked in shock and Aiden gave her a cold smile.

"Yeah now, I figured since you aren't wasting any time I shouldn't either. Besides, Ethan's a good wingman, I set them up, then tell them he's gay then I get them all to myself!" he aid brightly, and dragged Ethan away, muttering something about Scott into his brother's ear then cuffing him in the back of the head, Danny's eyes sad as they disappeared, and Scott was fairly sure that he wasn't the only one who had noticed that he and Ethan's eyes hadn't left each other.

"That guy is a god." Garrett said, impressed, and Mason rolled his eyes.

"Figures you'd think that." He complained and Garrett grinned.

"Hey, don't be bitter with me because that guy from Davenport doesn't want you." He said, and Liam looked around, his eyes accusing.

"What guy?" he demanded, and Garrett suddenly looked very guilty as Mason shifted nervously.

"Um, it's just a crush, that's all it is!" he justified, and Liam looked at him, his expression quickly turning to one of betrayal.

"You wouldn't be so worried of how I'd react...wait...Brett?" he demanded furiously, and Mason shrugged uncertainly.

"Maybe, it's not my fault, I drove through your old neighbourhood and saw him with his kit off, it's only a crush!" he justified and Liam harrumphed, glaring at him.

"Yeah sure, if you like the sort of guy who runs you out of school because his father's a dick." He complained, looking hurt, and Mason looked so forlorn that Kira felt the need to step in.

"He can't who he likes, none of us can. Look at Stiles, he's liked someone who was a complete bitch to him for years," she reasoned, earning her a reproving glare from Lydia, though Scott and Isaac exchanged a look that made it clear she thought she had a point, "and then a girl who lived wild for eight years. Your heart can't help who it likes." She told him wisely, and Liam made another nose of discontent, his arms crossed and glaring at Mason.

"And it isn't as if he can even get anywhere with Brett, he's got a girlfriend. And you weren't meant to find out." Garrett said sheepishly, shifting nervously and Liam made another annoyed noise but said no more, before he turned to Scott.

"Hey, want to practice tonight?" he asked hopefully, giving Mason a cold shoulder as one of his two best friends slumped sadly.

"Sorry squirt, can't, I've got work, and Isaac doesn't have practice either, he get's peace so he can watch cartoons without me interrupting him. We can go tomorrow though." He said, and this seemed to cheer him up, as he had sagged a little when Scott had told him no.

"Awesome." He said happily, and Mason edged forward nervously.

"I can't help it, I'm sorry, I won't even you know, do anything about it ok? I didn't want to like him considering what he did to you!" he moaned, and Liam glared.

"Sure, whatever." He said dismissively and Garrett rolled his eyes before Kira stepped in.

"Oh come on, Liam it isn't as if he likes him on purpose. I know you think this guy's a bit of a dick but that can't be helped. Scott probably thought Isaac was a bit of a dick at first and look at them now!" she said, pointing to the two of them, Isaac giving her an affronted look.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, nettled, but she waved him off, taking the slight grin on Liam's face as a sign of victory.

"That's true I suppose." He admitted, and she nodded happily.

"Exactly. But, you on the other hand, seriously, all it takes for you to fancy someone is for them to get their tops off? With the amount of tops that come off in this town? Seriously? And of all the guys usually wondering around, you like one who was a dick to your best friend?" she asked, sounding severely unimpressed and Mason spluttered a little and Danny patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry, everyone gets that, you get a little period when you fancy everyone who's remotely attractive. Lydia used to say I was in heat, you grow out of it." He assured him, and he took Malia's other hand as he and Stiles started dragging her towards maths.

"No, not going, can't make me!" she protested as they vanished from sight, the others shaking their heads in amusement as they did so.

"Yeah, I remember that, he was a nightmare when he was in heat." Lydia said, wrinkling her nose in disgust as she swept away, shoving Malia from the back to help the other two get her to the subject she so hated as people all admitted defeat and started bustling towards their classes before the bell rang.

"I know it's pathetic!" Mason whined, and she looked at him kindly.

"I didn't say it was pathetic, I mean some guys around here," she admitted fairly, Liam perking up a little, "but still, someone who was involved in Liam leaving his last school? You could have at least kept it quiet. Now, are you two going to be friends?" she asked, and Liam and Mason grinned at each other.

"Yeah I suppose, he's still an idiot with poor taste." Liam said, and Mason grinned and nodded.

"No arguments here, remember Gary?" he asked, and Liam smiled back, Kira relaxing.

"Good. Now, shake your hands...or something." She ordered and both boys hugged under her watchful eye, nodding happily.

"Good. Now, I need to get to class. You better still be talking, I don't want to have to sit between you at lunch." She warned, wagging her finger at them both as she disappeared.

"I'm sorry dude, I know you and Brett have issues." Mason said, and Liam waved his hand as they bid the others goodbye and started heading for French.

"Never mind that, just think what else we can fall out over by lunch." He insisted urgently as they walked away and Mason grinned.

"Huh, so we need to pretend to fall out again so you can sit beside Kira at lunch because of your little crush? Even though if you sit beside her you probably won't say anything and will bottle it as you usually do because you're too shy to tell her you like her?" he asked teasingly, and Liam looked away.

"No..." he mumbled, going red and looking at his shoes, and Mason laughed as they vanished up the stairs.

"Great, I love it when I'm the most mature out the three of us." Garrett gloated as the bell rang and they all headed for class.

"So did you hang out with them when Liam was at the prep school?" Isaac asked curiously, and Garrett shook his head.

"No, the orphanage is close to it though. Mason lives on the outskirts of the catchment for here, and he always went to hang out with Liam because his mum runs a catering company out of her place so there's always people coming in and out. So he would always go to Liam's and hang out with him, and one time I was just killing time at the mall and I bumped into them, can't get away from them now." He complained, not meaning a word of it.

"Wait, you actually live in the orphanage?" Scott asked in surprise, and Garrett glared at him, as though thinking he was making fun of him.

"Yeah, kind of the point of being an orphan. We don't all have friends like you to take me in." He snapped, and Scott shook his head.

"No, sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just, I didn't know you were an orphan." He said, and Isaac laid a hand on Garrett's shoulder.

"I know you'll think I'm biased because I'm sleeping with him, but he wouldn't do that. Usually if he offends someone it's because he just blunders through without thinking. He wouldn't do that." He assured him and Garrett sighed.

"I know, sorry, it's just, I don't like people thinking they're better than me because they don't live in an orphanage." He complained bitterly, and Scott shook his head.

"I didn't mean it like that Garrett, trust me. I just had no idea." He said apologetically, and Garrett shrugged.

"No reason you should have, I don't like broadcasting it, if you don't get the assholes making fun of you for it, you get the false pity instead, I can do without both." He muttered darkly, and Scott cocked his head sympathetically.

"So only Liam and Mason know?" he asked, and Garrett nodded.

"Yeah, Violet too since I really had it bad for her before I found out she liked girls. It's cool though, we can compare notes on girls, Liam's too shy to do that." He said with a small grin, and Scott felt himself kind of...bristling.

"Yeah well, he's one of the youngest in the year isn't he?" he justified, earning him an amused look from Isaac.

"Yeah he is but he's still a guy!" Garrett insisted in exasperation, amused by his friend's nature of liking girls but being too shy to say anything to them.

"Do you-do you remember it?" Isaac asked hesitantly, and Garrett gave him a hard look before giving him a small nod.

"Well, kind of. I remember being in the back, and something hitting us. The car flipped, my parents were screaming. Then there was this kind of growl and they screamed even more...and then I was pulled out of the car, dragged out and left on the side of the road, my parent's...my parent's ripped to shreds by something." He said, hesitating a little as something caught in his throat and he shook his head while Isaac rubbed his shoulder kindly.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." He said, and Garrett shook his head, dismissing it.

"No, it doesn't matter. I don't normally tell people all this, I've no idea why I'm telling you guys. Just, don't spread it around alright? I don't want to deal with everyone else." He pleaded, and Scott nodded.

"Course we won't. Your secret's safe with us." He assured him and Garrett gave them a small smile.

"Thanks guys. See you later ok?" he said, bidding them goodbye leaving the two leading wolves of the pack looking at his retreating back.

"Poor kid. You reckon those kids with the drugs are giving him trouble?" he asked, referring to the night before's conversation, and Scott shrugged, not really knowing.

"I don't know, all I do know is I kind of want to..." he began, trailing off, and Isaac smiled.

"Protect him. Kind of like you did me." He whispered, kissing his cheek and Scott sagged a little, smiling.

"Am I that obvious?" he asked, and Isaac patted his cheek pityingly.

"Yeah, you kind of are. But, did you hear what he said about his parents dying? What are the chances?" he asked grimly, and Scott snorted in annoyance.

"That that was the case grandma was talking about this morning? That it isn't something supernatural that killed them then dragged him out of the car? Nonexistent. Come on, let's go." He said, vowing to keep an eye out for Garrett from now on too.

It was happening just like the twins had said, he was feeling such strong protective feelings for all three of them now, for Liam, for Mason, for Garrett. They were becoming part of his pack, and he was becoming their Alpha as much as he was everybody else's. He wanted, needed to look out for them, just like the others.

Being an Alpha was weird.

"Aw crap!" Malia swore as she tried to sneak out of the classroom in the chaos of everyone coming in and sitting down, and Scott grinned.

"Nice try missy, come on, back inside." He told her in amusement, and she called him a word he didn't even think she knew as both of them steered her very unwilling form back inside, Scott musing on his expanding pack as they did so.

XX

"I get to watch, how awesome!" Stiles boasted in joy as he sat down beside Aiden and Garrett, who was casting a very appreciative eye on all the girls who were all lined up ready for the tryouts.

They weren't the only guys here, not by a long shot, it seemed that half the straight male population were all here, watching with rapt attention. Mrs Martin walked out onto the field, ready to start the tryouts, saw all the boys, sighed and shook her head, and deciding it wasn't worth her time to tell them to sod off, and headed for the tryouts.

"Yeah but Malia will claw your eyes out if you look at anyone but her right?" Aiden asked with a grin, and Stiles shrugged.

"Hey, have you seen her?" he asked, and both the other two gave her an appraising look, nodding in approval.

"Fair point." Garrett admitted, as she did look very nice with a sleeveless top and a miniskirt on.

"So, did you seriously want to come to this, or are you just doing it to piss Lydia off?" Stiles asked, lounging back on his seat, and Aiden shrugged.

"Kind of both." He said with savage pleasure, and Garrett cocked his head at where Lydia was talking to Malia.

"For what it's worth, I don't think she's over you, she seemed pissed that you were coming here." He assured him, and Aiden smirked smugly.

"Good."

Stiles and Garrett exchanged a look, but figuring it wasn't their problem they went quiet.

"I can't believe he actually came!" Lydia hissed, and Malia gave her an unimpressed look of disbelief.

"Are you kidding? You dumped him, which means he is perfectly at liberty to sit and drool over all the girls like every other straight guy in the school is doing." She complained, exasperated, gesturing wildly towards the stands.

"Yeah but, he could at least wait a little while!" she hissed, and Malia shook her head.

"Look, this might be because I'm new to the whole teenage dating scene, but really? You dumped him, and in ten minutes of that, your ex shows up. And let's face it, you're one of the most wanted girls in school, I don't think you can blame him for wanting to move on, especially since you dumped him for no reason." She ranted, and Lydia shot her a bemused look.

"Sweetheart, you might be new to all this, but regardless, when a girl dumps a guy, the girlfriends take the girl's side." She explained, and Malia looked at her, perplexed.

"Really? Even when the girl's clearly in the wrong like you are?" she asked in surprise and Lydia flared her nostrils in annoyance.

"Yes."

"Well that's dumb. Kira agrees with me you know, she thinks you're dumb for dumping him and dumber still for not telling him why." She informed her and Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? And what do you think?" she asked, annoyed by them both passing judgement, Kira didn't even have a boyfriend and Malia had been living wild for years, and as she fixed Malia with a steely glare, Malia shrugged.

"Trust me, you don't want to hear what I think." She assured her, and Lydia tutted as Melody approached.

"Hi Malia." She said, and Malia smiled and turned to face her.

"Hi. Lydia, this is Melody." She told her, and an annoyed Lydia gave her the once over and nodded.

"Hi." She said, not interested in going any further and Malia shrugged, turning back to a puzzled Melody.

"Forget her, she's just having a hissy because we think she's stupid for dumping Aiden." She explained, and Melody quickly scanned the crowd.

"Huh, the twin over there?" she asked with interest, and Lydia turned back and fixed her with a venomous look.

"Yes, him." She said, her frosty tone clearly indicating that she shouldn't go any further with her inquiries.

Melody considered this. Aiden was perhaps her way to get closer to the pack, but it was rather obvious that both of them still had feelings for the other. But regardless, it was something to watch.

"Who's the one with the messy hair and the orange sneakers beside him?" she asked, knowing full well who he was, and Malia smiled proudly.

"That's Stiles, he's mine." She said happily, and Melody grinned.

"Huh, he's cute." She complimented, and Malia waved at Stiles, who waved back.

Melody had ruled out coming between a couple early on. Admittedly, considering all the hot guys in the pack she had no shortage of guys to go for, but she had figured disrupting any of the relationships wouldn't help her case, but well, if opportunity knocked, she would simply be doing her duty as a normal red blooded teenage girl to answer.

"Isn't he?" Malia asked and as the two of them started chatting, Lydia clearly not interested, she began to focus on the noise going on around them, it was like there was something...

Oh no.

"Lydia, are you alright?" her mother asked as she approached, but Lydia didn't answer, frozen as if she had heard something.

"Not now..." she begged, knowing what the signs meant.

"Lydia?" her mother asked, and Malia had finally noticed that something was wrong with her friend.

"Hey, you with us?" she asked, squeezing her wrist and bringing her out of her reverie, her mother's concerned face peering at her intently.

"Are you feeling ill honey?" she asked worriedly, but there was something about her face that didn't seem quite right, but Lydia wasn't in any mood to find out more right now, not when she had this feeling.

Someone was about to die.

"I'll be back in a minute." She assured her mother, running towards the stands.

"Oh that's not good." Malia complained, running after her, and Melody, torn between genuine curiosity and actually following her mission, shrugged and quickly ran after them herself.

"Hey, wait up!" she urged, leaving Natalie standing on the field, her face worried.

Lydia had just looked exactly how her mother had looked not long before she had lost Maddie, as if she was hearing everyone else wasn't. It couldn't be happening, she had hoped that it would pass over Lydia as it had passed Lydia over, but it looked like she was too late to stop it.

Her daughter was a banshee.

"Mrs Martin?" Violet asked hesitantly, and she turned back to the waiting girls.

"Alright ladies, can you form into groups and let's get this show on the road?" she asked brightly, not betraying her worries of what was going on with her daughter, and realising with a heavy heart it was now time to tell her stuff she should have told her a long time ago.

"What are they doing?" Stiles asked, his eyes narrowed in worry as the three girls ran towards them, and Aiden shrugged.

"Maybe they're trying to convince me to take Lydia back." He suggested, but he sounded far too hopefully for that possibility for them to believe he would say no.

"Yeah, like they'd have to convince you." Garrett pointed out, the wolf glaring at the human who gave him a grin and shrugged innocently.

"What's up?" Stiles asked, clambering over two people who shouted abuse at him as he did so to meet the girls.

"I have a feeling." Lydia said in panic, and the way Stiles' eyes widened, Malia figured this wasn't a good thing.

"Really? As in a feeling feeling, as opposed to a feeling tonight's going to be a good night feeling?" he asked insistently, and she glared at him.

"Obviously! I wouldn't be freaking out if it was, the last time I got a feeling..." she whispered in a low hiss, and Stiles nodded.

"Aiden almost died." He concluded grimly, seeing the look of terror that flickered over her face and vowing to decipher that later.

"What's going on?" Garrett asked curiously as he and Aiden came down to ground level, and Lydia ignored him.

"I've no idea, but it seems like you need to be part of the cool crowd to talk to Lydia." Melody commented loudly, earning her a small grin from Garrett and an appreciative one from Aiden.

"I have a feeling." Lydia explained in a panic to Aiden, whose face dropped.

"What, now?" he demanded urgently, and she nodded, clearly on the verge of panic.

"Ok, should we call your mom over here?" Garrett asked worriedly as Lydia seemed as though she was about to burst into tears.

"No! Just...no." Lydia snapped, Garrett recoiling a little as she did so, and Melody was looking at the exchange in silent interest.

Lydia may be a banshee but she clearly didn't have any form of control over her abilities. Perhaps they had overestimated her.

"Alright, let's get away from the noise come on." Stiles ordered and he led the group away from the bustle of the stands, Garrett completely flummoxed and Melody making a good show of pretending she was flummoxed if she did say so herself.

"This can't be happening again, not again, not now, so soon after Allison!" Lydia begged, and Stiles took her face in his hands, looking at her intently.

"Ok, calm down! We can't help anyone if you don't. Calm down, and just listen. Listen to the silence, we need to know where it is so we can stop it." He told her, Aiden and Malia giving him a slightly jealous look as the other two just shrugged at each other.

"Alright, you're right let me think," she whispered urgently, wringing her hands, and Aiden, feeling he should be doing something, turned to the other two.

"You two should go back." He told them, and Garrett shook his head.

"What and leave her like this, freaking out? No way!" he insisted, and Melody nodded determinedly.

"Yeah we aren't going anywhere." She told him boldly, and he turned away in annoyance as Malia watched Stiles and Lydia together.

"What can you hear?" Stiles asked, and Lydia, who had closed her eyes, bit her lip worriedly.

"I hear...clanking, like glasses against each other." She said, and Malia frowned thoughtfully.

"So either the canteen or the science labs, anything else?" she asked, hoping that just for once they could stop someone dying instead of just finding the body.

Lydia shook her head, tears in her eyes as she struggled to hear anything that could help them, and then she hesitated, cocking her head a little.

"There's wind, it's blowing the trees." She said uncertainly, and Garrett looked around the grounds, pointing.

"Art room on the top floor, they've got glass beakers for dirty brushes and the tree is right outside. You can hear all this from here?" he asked in disbelief, and Stiles looked at her in alarm, they didn't have time for her not to be sure.

"Could it be up there?" he demanded, and she shrugged, looking helpless.

"I don't know I can't tell, it would make sense though wouldn't it?" she asked, her eyes swimming with tears, and Stiles nodded grimly.

"Well making sense is the best option we have right now, let's go!" he urged, heading off for the school, the others close behind him.

Malia glared at Lydia.

"Now that this is happening, now will you consider letting that Scuffock training you?" she demanded, and Lydia gave her a helpless look.

"Let some unknown woman who claims to be a teacher loose on me? No thanks, not until we can confirm if she's a good guy or not!" she hissed, and Malia shot her an exasperated look.

"All I know is she's offering to help you find the bodies before they become bodies, and that's the kind of thinking we need right now, because otherwise, you're no good to anyone!" she snapped angrily, and Lydia bristled.

"Hey, I've been dealing with this crap a lot longer than you have wild girl, don't you think I'm trying?" she demanded, and Malia gave her a dismissive look.

"Obviously not hard enough!" she bit back, and Lydia looked furious, and as they ran up the first flight of stairs into the school, Melody looked at Garrett, seeming totally lost.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded weakly, and he just shrugged as Aiden shouldered their way into the school, before heading up to the first floor.

Lydia was shaking as they ran up the stairs, the pressure building in her head, the pain building in her temples, the noises getting louder in her ears as they ran through the second floor, bound for the next flight up. This couldn't be happening again, not after losing Allison, not after nearly losing Aiden, not again, not now...

Coming to a stop at the top of the stairs, Aiden took a deep sniff, let out a low growl and virtually flew along the corridor, the others hot on his heels as he skidded to a stop outside one of the art classrooms.

"The door's blocked, hang on." He snarled, and as Garrett took a step forward to help him, Aiden shouldered the door, resulting in a loud clattering and banging as the door blocking the door went flying and the group finally reached their destination.

Only to discover they were too late.

Hanging from the ceiling, a long noose of rope used to hang drying artwork from after a class finished it was tied around the neck of a boy, probably only a little older than Liam. He had a long fringe covering his eyes, his eyes open and glassy, his face red, tongue sticking out, his body rocking slightly in the slight wind coming through the windows, having clearly used the teacher's desk beside him to step off and hang himself.

"No, no, no!" Lydia breathed, sobbing as she saw the hanging body of the boy as Stiles shook in fright.

They had been too late, and because they had been, they had missed their chance to save this boy.

"Oh god..." Garrett whispered, feeling as if he was about to throw up and he turned away from the scene as the boy rocked in the wind, trying to deny his stomach and the fact that his entire body was shaking, trying to ignore the fact that a kid the same age as him had just hung himself.

"Stiles..." Malia whispered uncertainly and Stiles turned to face her, burying his face in her shoulder as he turned her away from the hanging boy, making sure she couldn't see as he felt her claws digging into him, clearly freaked out by what she had seen.

Melody leaned weakly against the door frame, her mind abuzz as she considered all the implications of all of this. Lydia then let out a broken sob followed by a human scream, and a quivering Aiden took her, wrapping her in his arms as she sobbed into his shoulder, rocking her and hushing her as the boy's dead eyes stared at them all in accusation.

**Well that ended on a dark note. How does this poor boy's suicide fit into everything else, what's the connection?**

**And speaking of connections, who can spot the connection to something that happens in a later story? **

**Until then though, just what was going on in the graveyard? What was Agravaine up to? I'm sure youll be relieved to know, you wont have long to find out, as next chapter we find out exactly what was going on in the graveyard, and since im an evil sadistic author, its high time i torture my characters again! Who are my targets next time?**

**And also, I have sad news, grandma wont be around for much longer as she will soon be homeward bound, but well still hear from her over the rest of the story. On the plus side though, if grandma goes home, Scott and Isaac can get up to something in the bedroom again ;)**

**And to top it off, Jackson has his kit off next chapter, as Scott wants answers!**

**Well my dissertation is nearly finished, my last Sunday shift is this week, so guess what, I'll soon have more time to write my various stories (and about damn time too) along with just sitting watching telly and playing games, god that sounds good**

**Until then and to tide me over for the last little bit of my dissertation, reviews are appreciated, so please, favourite, follow and review and please vote in the poll if you havent done so already, and ill see you lovely people next time!**


	13. Episode 3: Revenant Part 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"Are we ready?" Agravaine asked as he took a swig out of his hip flask, and Malakai nodded, his eyes dancing with malice.

"Yep, we've done it. And Eoghan and Ciara are scouting out the place for later. How do you know we'll need to do it though? I mean, if they do it..." he said, and Agravaine patted his shoulder.

"My dear boy, none of those are meant for our little true Alpha. And I highly suspect that they'll be able to kill anyone in his pack, even with our help, they are simply there to play mind games. Remember, we can't move too fast, at least not until the corruption of the nemeton takes a greater hold on the town, and that will require patience." He said, heading to the sort of melted looking chair that he had made for himself and dropping into it, while Malakai pouted.

"It isn't fair, why do we need to sneak around like this?" he grumbled and Agravaine toasted him with his flask as he took another sip.

"Ah my eager little murderer, I know you're eager to test yourself against the pack, and you will, all I need is a little bit more patience. A direct confrontation would undermine what I'm trying to do here, and that would make me angry, and as I recall, no one likes it when I'm angry." He said, his voice still silky smooth, but his eyes flashed to their foul, burning yellow and Malakai bowed his head, looking cowed.

Agravaine sighed and beckoned him closer, Malakai going down on his knees beside his chair, allowing Agravaine to run his hand affectionately through his long black hair, Agravaine's yellow eyes boring into him.

"I appreciate your bloodlust my boy, and I know these sorts of things strain your patience. You prefer to do things, and have no respect for the long game. It's what makes you such a lamentable chess player. But I swear, a day at most, and you will get your chance to test yourself against the best that Beacon Hills has to offer." He purred and Malakai looked up at him in excitement.

"Really?" he asked, the thought of blood enticing him as he got back to his feet and Agravaine chuckled, nodding.

"Yes my boy. Now, run along and do another scout of the nemeton, you and your brother are the natural choices and as he is with Bonnie getting us everything we need for our plan, that means you are my best man." He purred, and Malakai grinned before leaving the building.

Agravaine watched him go. He and his brother Rhyley were the newest members of his pack, and Malakai was his most lethal servant. Tall, broad shoulder and well built, he was dressed in a black tank top with a turtle neck, revealing his bulging arms and the tally mark tattoos he had on his arms. Very loyal, there was only one person he was more loyal to than Agravaine, and that his younger brother Rhyley. Agravaine had taken them both from the orphanage that they had been in, bringing them into his pack and ever since they had most lethal additions to his little clan.

He appreciated his impatience, and his blood lust. But Agravaine didn't get to where he was, what he was, by being impatient. Above all else he was a very impatient man. He knew some of his pack, Bonnie mainly, questioned his alliance with Peter Hale. Malakai only questioned it because, as he had noted, he preferred to rip his enemies' throats out first and think second. But that wouldn't do, not in this case.

No, there was too much at stake. Power was to play for, the ultimate power, and he was not going to be denied now, not now when he had the key to victory in his grasp. Scott McCall was the key to the future. He had no care for the two great behemoths that would be fighting over the boy. No, the boy would be his.

And then, his future was assured.

Forever.

XX

With both Natasha and Gareth already looking for a new hunt to go on while he dealt with his business here, Argent knew he didn't have much time. However before he found that arrogant privileged idiot otherwise known as Mr Whittemore (who had clearly passed his less than pleasant qualities onto his son), he needed more information.

When he had woken up this morning he had found a text from Isaac, informing him that the house had been attacked by a whist. Argent had scowled upon learning this information, whists took powerful dark energy to conjure, and he knew for a fact that it was far beyond the abilities of anyone in the pack, and he also knew that the Pombero and even this flying thing that Isaac had mentioned had nothing to do with it. Whists needed a connection, something had to link them to the person controlling them, more than just the malevolent energy that was needed in order to create them in the first place.

There was something going on here. Jackson's kidnap, the presence of the Pombero and this flying thing, and now whists appearing in town, there was no way that they weren't all connected. But if he was to make good on what he had promised Allison, if he was to keep the promise that he made over her grave, that he would protect her pack, protect the boys she loved, protect the town they lived in, then he was going to have to learn more. A malevolent force was clearly in Beacon Hills, and regardless of what they were after, that meant they were going to come into contact with Scott and his pack, particularly if Scott was the one they were after.

The town of Biddenden was close yet far from London, a small village of the sort that made up much of rural England. And it was here that he had come, seeking advice from an old friend. Problem was, that old friend probably wouldn't be happy to see him. Well him in and of himself, she would hopefully be happy to see. Him, the son of Gerard Argent and the brother of Kate Argent, well, maybe not so much.

Off the main street there was a house that backed onto a heavily wooded area, with a pond behind the house. This house was the one he now pulled his rented car up to, readying his gun. After all, with everything his father and sister had done, and his own suspicious nature, going into a potentially unfriendly situation without the proper equipment wasn't going to help anyone. He climbed out of the car, his eyes scanning for any potential trouble. Sensing none he walked towards the house, not able to shake the feeling that he was being watched.

He approached the door, and was just about to knock when he heard a round chamber behind his head.

"Not so fast." A cold voice demanded, the cool steel pressing into his skull.

"Hello Amanda. Long time no see." He said calmly, wondering if she was going to force him to take action.

"Don't sound so pleased to see me Argent, I made it perfectly clear after that screw up in France that I never wanted to see you or any one of your family again." She snarled, digging the gun further into his head, and he rolled his eyes.

"And as I told you at the time, I had no idea Victoria had found out where your informant was. Or what she was. Did you really think she wouldn't kill a coinchenn? They're dangerous, as you knew full well before you fell in love with her." He explained, and she growled, but to his relief he felt the gun tremble a little as she pressed it into his head.

"She was harmless! She didn't want to be what she was, and she was useful to more than just me, even Natasha used her at times!" she screeched and Argent nodded.

"I know, which proves to nearly everyone that she was harmless considering how trigger happy Natasha is. And I'm sorry Victoria killed her, she wouldn't have stopped to think." He justified and Amanda snorted dismissively behind him.

"I hear that's what got her killed." She said coldly, and he felt the searing pain of losing his wife blossom in his heart once again, remembering as her eyes glowed blue before she plunged a dagger into herself, leaving him without a wife, his daughter without her mother, and his father with the way in he needed.

"You could argue that." He told her, and she sighed, though he could feel the scowl replacing the barrel of the gun at the back of his head.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened to your daughter. I might have happily killed your wife, sure, but your daughter..." she tailed off as he turned around to face her.

Slim to the point of almost being skeletal, her hair tied back in a severe ponytail, clad in jeans and dark clothes that accented her dark skin, her lips blood red, she stood glaring at him as if it was him who had killed the woman she loved.

"It's good to see you Amanda." He said, extending his hand, which she surveyed suspiciously before nodding.

"You too." She said rigidly, and he jerked his head towards the house.

"When did you become Maggie's bodyguard?" he asked, praying that she hadn't come here just after Victoria had killed her lover, he didn't want to dance on those toes again.

Amanda shrugged, uncaring.

"A year or so ago." She said easily, though her voice was filled with hidden meaning, making him wonder, just why did Maggie, who albeit slightly older, was more than capable of outgunning any punk hunter she came across?

"Where is she?" he asked, and she jerked her shoulder irritably, beckoning him to follow her around the garden towards the pond.

"Out here, she likes to have access to all avenues of communication." She informed him and he smiled in amusement, but then hesitated, if she was at the pond for communication...

"Then..." he began and she nodded, cutting him off.

"They use her as a consultant, which is understandable, she's the most knowledgeable of all the hunters in Britain, and because of how the community respects her, she's also the dispatcher for various hunters, so they contact her if they need a job done but want to keep their hands clean, or avoid any attention they could do without." She elaborated, heading down the small incline towards the pond edge, scattering a couple of geese that were in the way, and Chris smiled as he saw a canopied chair, blocking the wintery sun from its occupant, beside the pond edge, little pieces of bread feeding the ducks that were quacking at the water's edge.

"We have a visitor." Amanda reported as they approached the chair, and the stream of bread petered and died, earning the occupant reproving looks from the ducks.

"Who?" a strong voice asked and Chris smiled.

"Chris Argent. It's good to see you Maggie." He said, figuring if she was going to go for her gun she'd have gone for it now, and all he got was a sniff of disapproval for his trouble.

"Chris Argent, and what could possibly bring you to my door?" Maggie asked, resuming feeding the ducks.

"I need information. For centuries, the Argents were experts on werewolves. The Evans family were experts on dogs, and that's what I need help with." He explained, and Amanda glowered at him.

"Seriously? Dogs? Do you have to rub it in?" she asked icily, fingering her gun and he winced as Maggie held up a hand.

"Well if you want to know about dogs..." she began, getting to her feet, and Chris reached forward to shake her hand.

A stout woman, she had brown blonde hair, her face a little worn, but she was still in excellent shape, clad in a warm fleece, her gun and a knife clearly visible and he knew full well she would have other weapons stored around her body somewhere. But as she turned, his hand faltered, as did the smile on his face as beheld what had happened to her.

Four savage gashes were carved into the right hand side of her face, running from her temple down to her jaw, her eye now a lifeless milky white, the attack, whatever it was, having ripped through the eye as well, the four gashes still looking fresh and real.

"Then you've come to the right place." She said with a smile, extending her hand as he tried to get over the shock of what had become of her.

XX

"Are you ok?" Parrish asked a shaking Lydia as Natalie rubbed her daughter's shoulder tenderly.

Lydia gave a weak nod as the coroner shook his head and wheeled the dead boy away, Natalie's eyes focused solely on her daughter while various other deputies took the statements of the other kids who had seen the poor boy.

"Do we know his name yet?" Elba asked with a heavy sigh, he always hated suicides but one so young, at a school no less, that just made the entire thing all the worse than it already was.

Natalie sighed sadly and nodded.

"Yes, his name was Ewan. Ewan...Ewan Pilton, he was a freshman. He's been off for a while, I had no idea he was this bad. I heard he was having some problems at home, but they were meant to be getting better, I don't know why..." she said, her voice cracking and Lydia squeezed her hand in sympathy as her voice shook.

Elba nodded gruffly, patting her shoulder and leading her away to get some composure while Parrish squatted down so he was eye level with Lydia.

"Was this a feeling?" he asked, clearly pleading for it not to be, but then she nodded and he deflated, looking supremely disturbed.

"I tried to stop it, I could hear it about to happen but by the time we got here...ahh, if I just knew how to control these stupid powers!" she yelled in frustration and Parrish took her hand, squeezing it.

"You can't blame yourself Lydia, there's no way you could have stopped it." He assured her, getting to his feet.

But that's the thing. She could have stopped it. If she had any idea on how to control these damn stupid powers of hers, she might have been able to save the life of a young fifteen year old boy.

"Lydia?" a hesitant voice said behind her and she turned to see Malia looking at her worriedly.

"What?" she asked, her voice lifeless, and Malia drooped a little.

"I want you to know I don't think it's really your fault, I know you don't have..." she began, but Lydia shook her head.

"No, you were right. If I knew how to control these stupid powers of mine, then I might have been able to save him. I-I keep thinking about him, hanging there, looking at me." She whispered, her voice shaking and a second later, Malia wrapped her in a hug as she shivered in disgust and misery, Ewan's dead eyes burning onto her brain as she considered the full weight of her failure.

Melody looked at the slip referring her to Morrell with the vaguest traces of amusement. That would be an enjoyable session for both of them. Mind you, it could be useful. After all, Morrell wasn't like other druids, she had different beliefs than the rest of her kind, taught to her by Talia Hale, who had been well respected even by the king himself (shame about her brother but you couldn't have everything). And besides, Morrell was formerly the twin's Emissary, that alone made her a useful pawn.

But...something about the boy's suicide was niggling at her. Having grown up in the Alcazar all her life, with legions of soldiers and servants coming and going, one of her mother's fondness for sacrificial magic rituals, the other fond of offing anyone who annoyed her, and of course her psycho brother's many conquests and kills, sometimes both, well, she was more than used to death, so much so that she considered it a slow day if she hadn't witnessed at least three deaths before lunchtime. But the boy's suicide, something was off about it. It was just, a general feeling of unease that she had, but there was something clearly off about the death, this suicide. It wasn't murder, that much was clear, he had wanted to kill himself, but there was something just out of reach...

Perhaps a trip to Morrell wouldn't be wasted after all.

"You ok?" Aiden asked Garrett, who still looked very white, and the younger boy nodded.

"Yeah, it's just...he sat behind me in biology, he never said anything to me, or Liam or Mason, but he was there you know?" he asked, his lip trembling, and Aiden wondered what he should do, Scott was good at this sort of thing, not him. But he asked himself what Scott would do, and he nervously hugged Garrett to him as the younger boy coped with the first time of seeing a dead body.

"Want me to take you home?" Stiles asked Lydia, and she nodded uncertainly, Malia standing by her shoulder looking anxious, and Stiles led the two girls from the room, Natalie looking as if she wanted to hold Lydia back.

No, that wasn't a conversation she needed to have here. She couldn't reveal to her daughter everything she knew, everything her grandmother was, here at school, especially not right after she had just witnessed a young boy's suicide. But they did need to have a conversation, and now that she knew her daughter had indeed inherited the powers of a banshee from her grandmother, it was too late to do anything else. She should have seen it before, the reaction to Peter Hale biting her, the way it all happened, she should have known she would become a banshee. But now, she had missed her chance, she hadn't warned Lydia. But there was still time. Judging from the way that she had reacted to the suicide, Lydia was still coming to grips with her power. That meant she had time to warn her, to prepare her, to tell her everything that she should have told her so long ago.

She only hoped her daughter would forgive her when she was done.

Garrett sniffed as he got himself back under control, and muttered an apology to Aiden who now that he had been struck with his flash of inspiration as to what Scott would have done, was at a total loss at what to do next.

"Thanks." Garrett said, and Aiden nodded uncertainly.

"Hey, it's always a shock. You might not have known him but you still knew him if you see what I mean. Losing someone you know is always hard, especially when you find them in, well, looking, you know what I mean." He finished awkwardly, and Garrett nodded.

"Yeah I know. I'm too young to remember much of what happened to my parents, but that." He said, his voice stopping abruptly, and Aiden nodded, looking grim.

"It's a shock. Come on, I'll take you home." He offered and the younger kid nodded, then looked at Aiden suspiciously.

"How come you're not as bothered by this as everyone else is? Lydia's a state, Malia too, Melody's off, but you and Stiles, you two seem a bit, different about all of it." He asked, his eyes narrowed, and Aiden frantically searched for an answer to that question.

Stiles was easy enough to justify, but himself, without revealing his past, which as Danny had shown never went over particularly well, but how could he do it without bringing all that up?

Then he had it.

He pulled up his tshirt, and Garrett stared in shock at the scar that the Oni had left in him when it had run him through, the long, thin gash across the top of his stomach.

"A few months ago, I got ran through by a guy with a sword. After that...not much tends to phase you as much as it used to." He explained and Garrett looked at him in awe.

"I had no idea, I'm sorry, I..." he spluttered, but Aiden shrugged.

"Hey, to someone who's just seen a dead body, you're kind of entitled to be wondering why I'm not as phased by it all. And Stiles, well, he saw Allison get killed, she was a friend of ours, the same guy who stabbed me got her and she...she didn't make it." He explained, stretching the truth a little, the real reason was Stiles had seen numerous dead bodies around town and had also caused some of them as the Nogitsune but Garrett didn't need to know that he was freaked out enough as it was.

"Sorry." Garrett muttered, but Aiden shook his head.

"Don't be. I get why you're freaked, after seeing something like that, you're bound to wonder why someone else isn't freaked. And besides, it's Beacon Hills. Crap happens." He said grimly, and Garrett gave him a hesitant look before Aiden beckoned the younger boy, and with that Garrett followed him out of the room, his mind abuzz with what Aiden had told him.

XX

Isaac stretched tiredly, stroking the back of his neck as he laid out on the couch, watching tv, his history books on the table beside him. It wasn't as if he particularly liked it when Scott was out, after all it meant there was no one to kiss or cuddle up to, but he also did kind of like having the place to himself. Allegra must still be at the library and Melissa was taking a reduced shift at work today, as the new doctor, Dr Dunbar (who he had figured out was Liam's stepdad even if Scott hadn't) had all but ordered her just to work a normal shift and go home and get some rest.

Rest, fat chance. With whists and Pomberos and bird people running around the town, he had a horrible feeling the entire pack wasn't going to get much rest for much longer. Despite the various comings and goings in town of the last three months, they hadn't had an actual crisis to deal with until now, but now, with the Pombero attacking Lydia, the bird thing attacking Aiden and finally the whist attacking Allegra, it was clear that their reprieve, such as it was, was over. He looked at the tv, currently advertising for life insurance, and he felt a significant shiver pass over him.

This was the first threat they had faced since they had freed Stiles and stopped the Oni, the first threat since Allison had died. Everything had changed when she had died, there was no denying it, and only sheer luck and Scott's own stubbornness had kept Aiden from joining her. Now, as Stiles had so kindly pointed out after their encounter with the Pombero, the entire pack was now in danger again, very real danger and, it was like, something had changed. Knowing that Allison was dead, gone, it had impacted them all significantly, it was like the aura of comfort, of safety had gone forever along with her. He rubbed his arms to warm himself up, trying to stop himself thinking about it.

Sure they had had several close calls. Derek numerous times. Jackson after his final fight with Peter and Derek. Scott had been poisoned by Victoria, and almost killed by the twins. Lydia had almost killed by Jennifer. Stiles by the Nogitsune. And he himself by thousands of volts of electricity running through his body, but they had always somehow managed to come out of it in one piece. But when they had lost Allison, something in the pack had changed, something had been lost that they could never get back, and that made a new supernatural threat all the more daunting.

Particularly when it involved targeting Lydia (who attracted enough of her own amount of trouble) and headless dog zombies. This town had enough crap going against it, and the death toll was already rising with this latest batch of newcomers, and it was their job to protect it. But how could they protect the town when they couldn't even protect themselves?

Sighing, he got to his feet, contemplating getting his pen and starting his history homework. He did like studying with Scott, and the rewards were rather great, but he was also too interested in history to wait. Besides, he liked being the one in the know, it meant that when Scott stumbled or struggled, he got to have his way with his boyfriend, and that was always rather fun.

Isaac contemplated his homework, and decided that if he was going to get started on it then he needed to get something to eat first. He headed through to the kitchen, but as he did so, he stopped, something clearly not right.

The door was open. He had shut the door, and he had locked it, after all, the whist had nearly got Allegra and he had no desire to go up against a headless dog zombie. Besides, Melissa would freak and if he got so much as a scratch, Scott would freak even more. Isaac edged towards the door, slowly extending his claws suspiciously, wondering if he was indeed just being paranoid or if there actually was something to worry about. But as he approached the door, his nose got wind of scent that made him wrinkle his nose in disgust, it was damp, smelling of decay, of stale alcohol and smoke. Isaac quickly moved to shut the door when he heard a noise behind him.

Isaac turned, eyes glowing golden as he snarled at the intruder, vowing to make it rue the day it ever came in here to cause trouble but to his surprise there was nothing there. Alright this was getting creepy now. He snarled in annoyance, turning back to shut the door, when the source of the noise shoved the door wide open, his haggard bespectacled face sneering in disgust at Isaac as he entered the house.

It was his father.

"You know, I'm going to have to punish you." He growled, his voice guttural and harsh and Isaac could feel his heart rate increasing, his breath coming in short panicked pants.

It couldn't be, his father was dead, he was gone, he'd watched them seal his coffin under six feet of earth. Jackson had ripped him open, the one good thing he had ever don for Isaac but here he was, his father, standing right in front of him, as if nothing had ever changed.

"No, it isn't you." Isaac growled, well at least he tried to, but the fear of seeing his father again was making his voice quiver as he backed away from his dead father, who, other than the rips in his clothes and the mud on his glasses, looked as though he had never even died in the first place.

His father smiled as he advanced on him, the sadistic smile that he always used to get before he started punishing Isaac for some perceived slight or wrongdoing. Isaac prepared to pounce, no, his father was dead, he wasn't going to let him destroy his life again!

Mr Lahey lunged towards Isaac, but months of training and of running for his life from various monsters had made him much more agile than he had used to be. Lunging backwards out of the way of his father's grasping, gnarled hands, Isaac backflipped, landing cat like, eyes burning gold as Mr Lahey shook his head, the sadistic glint in his eye only growing.

"You're only making it worse for yourself. Come here!" he demanded and Isaac rolled out of his way, rolling into the living room and making a run for it.

Mr Lahey took off after his son, Isaac panting in panic as his father pursued him through the living room. To his alarm, Isaac noticed his father was right behind him, and his father seized him by the front of his tshirt, jerking his face down into his waiting fist.

"Wasting money on crap like this, this wasn't how I taught you to behave!" Mr Lahey snarled, Isaac reeling back, his jaw aching as Mr Lahey swung at him again, this time catching him a glancing blow and sending him crashing into one of the cabinets against the wall, shattering the glass behind him, small shards getting embedded in his back as he screamed.

"Look what you did! Get that cleaned up, now!" Mr Lahey roared, Isaac whimpering as he advanced upon his son, and he ducked just in time to avoid a plate that his father had grabbed and thrown at his head with all the might he could muster.

"No, you're dead, leave me alone!" Isaac screamed, his entire body shaking in fear as his father got closer.

"So that's a lack of respect as well. You know what that means don't you?" Mr Lahey hissed malevolently, as Isaac backtracked towards the window, wondering if he should just run for it, his mind swirling in panic and fear, his father was alive, he was back, he was never going to let go...

"No, I'm not going back in there, I haven't done anything, leave me alone!" Isaac roared frantically, leaping at his father, claws ripping into his father's gaunt face.

Mr Lahey screamed in rage as Isaac forced himself off him, running into the kitchen, determined to escape his father, his world spinning around him in panic, gasping, tears running down his face, pleading for his father to be dead like he was meant to be, pleading for something, for anything, for Scott...

Isaac then screamed as his father's gnarled hand grabbed him roughly by the hair, pulling him back with such force that it knocked him off his feet, slamming him to the ground, whimpering and crying in pain as his father dragged him to the wall by his hair, slamming his head against it before pulling him up by the hair, Isaac whimpering, crying and clawing at his father's hand but the hateful old man simply punched him in the stomach before grabbing his face and slamming him back against the wall, tears running down his cheeks.

"Really? Did you think you could escape me? Did you think you had friends, that these people cared about you? That you could ever escape me? I'm your father, and you, are nothing but a waste! You're worthless," he screamed in Isaac's face, punching him in the stomach with ever fresh accusation, "pathetic, weak, no good, little piece of shit!" he finished, delivering a final punch and dropping a shaking, crying and nauseous Isaac to his knees as he struggled not to throw up, panting and crying, and he screamed as his father seized him by the hair again, hoisting him up.

"Scott..." Isaac whimpered, and Mr Lahey looked at him in disgust.

"So, what, you waited till I was gone and showed your true colours did you? Turned gay did you? We'll see about that, you know I'm going to have to punish you more now!" he spat hatefully as Isaac struggled, trying to curl himself into a ball, knowing what was about to happen but he felt so weak, so powerless, so scared, his father was right, he was worthless, he was pathetic.

He then screamed as his father slammed the door shut on his shaking fingers, shattering the bones in them.

"Other hand you little queer!" his father demanded, Isaac still trying to curl himself into a ball, to make it go away, to make the pain go away, wishing he could go away but as he tried to protect his other hand, his father smacked him in the mouth, making him lean on his mutilated and broken hand, making him whine in pain as his father slammed the door shut on his other hand, crushing the fingers as he screamed.

"What? Did you think this boy loved you? Why on earth would he love someone as pathetic and worthless as you?" his father sneered as Isaac curled into himself, whimpering and crying, wishing it wasn't true, wishing his father wasn't real, wishing he wasn't telling the truth, wondering why he had ever thought Scott could love him back, his father was right, he wasn't good enough for Scott, he wasn't good enough for Allison, he wasn't good enough for any of them, his father was right, he was worthless, he didn't deserve to be here, to be their friend.

"Are you going to apologise?" his father demanded angrily, leering above him and Isaac curled tighter into himself, shaking, wanting it all to end.

"I'm sorry!" he screamed as his father pulled him up by his hair again.

"And you should be, you just wanted me out of the way so you could show how weak and pathetic you really are, couldn't wait to cosy on up to these stupid people, wanted to think you were something more than a waste of space did you? Well you aren't! These people would never like you, not someone as worthless as you! Did you think that even if the boy was just as abnormal as you are, why on earth would he ever settle for you?" Mr Lahey screamed down at his shaking, quivering, cowering son who was curled into himself, sobbing, begging for it to end.

"He shouldn't!" Isaac cried weakly, and Mr Lahey nodded savagely.

"You're right, he shouldn't because there's always someone better than you!" he spat, and then grabbed Isaac by the hair once again, Isaac crying and begging to be let go as he dragged him into the hall, Isaac's feet flailing under him, trying to break free, wanting it to end, wanting to be left alone but as he saw what his father was aiming for he started struggling, trying to break free.

"No, no, no!" Isaac begged desperately as Mr Lahey reached for the door handle to the cupboard under the stairs.

"No freezer here, so this will have to do, now get in there and think on what you've done, and if you even think of coming out, you'll need to be punished all over again!" Mr Lahey snarled as he threw open the door to the cupboard and dragged Isaac up so he was standing on his feet, before kicking him in the back of the legs, sending a screaming and crying Isaac stumbling into the cupboard, crashing into the hoover and knocking the contents of a shelf down on top of him as he did so.

"Please, no, dad, don't, let me out!" he begged, but to his great relief he saw that his father wasn't blocking the door, if he could get free, if he could get out...

He made a break for it, and screamed in panic as a glass shattered on the wall right in front of him, peppering him with shards of glass that cut into his face, making him cry out in pain.

"I said get in!" his father stormed, and shoved Isaac back into the cupboard, glass shards embedded in his face and he shoved his son back in.

"No, dad don't!" Isaac pleaded but Mr Lahey gave him a cold smile.

"It's for your own good son, and you know it!" he snarled and with that, he slammed the door shut, Isaac whimpering and crying, begging to be let out, scratching at the door in panic with his broken fingers, whipping himself into a panic and screaming in terror as he realised what a small, dark, enclosed space he was in, his father's evil laughter ringing in his ears as he moved something in front of the door to keep his screaming, terrified son locked inside.

XX

Jackson was going round the bend. Yeah, he now had clothes, had put some weight back on, the wolfsbane was mostly out of his system and thanks to Danny his hair now looked perfectly cool and acceptable, but he was stuck inside Danny's house all day, and since Danny had gone back to school, he had no one to talk to or nothing to do. He wanted to be doing something, he needed to be out there, finding out who the hell had done this to him, not waiting for McCall to get his ass in gear and figure out who was after him, he wanted to know who had done this to him, he wanted to find out what the hell was going on with his arm, and he wanted to get even, but instead, he was trapped indoors, playing video games and watching Netflix all day, and it was driving him insane!

Admittedly, he had started watching Game of Thrones and he had already finished the first season, but he didn't want to risk overdoing Danny's subscription, at least until he found out about his plan. But even then, there was only so much tv you could watch in a day, and daytime tv sucked majorly (though having the American channels again was an improvement on endless episodes of Bargain Hunt back in London (mind you, he quite liked Bargain Hunt, which was a guilty pleasure he would take to his grave, but that wasn't the point)) and he was going crazy being stuck inside all day, not knowing anything and just waiting for Danny to get home so he could find out what wise words he had from his wonderful new Alpha.

He scoffed. Scott, his Alpha, and Isaac, his prime beta. How ridiculous, at least Derek had seemed the part, but despite what he told Danny, if they thought he was going to be all nice and submissive to Scott like Isaac and the twins were, they were going to be in for a major shock.

He sighed, running his hand distractedly along his fauxhawk when he tensed, thinking he heard water dripping. He looked around musingly, trying to discern where it was coming from but nothing was particularly jumping out at him so figuring it must be coming from the bathroom, he crossed the room, he was going mad as it was, he didn't need a constant dripping on top of that. He threw open the door irritably, and he froze as he saw who was on the other side of the door.

Matt smiled at him, the disturbing, insane grin that he had on his face so many times when he ordered Jackson to kill another person who he blamed for his 'death', the one that he got on his face when he mentioned Allison and being with her, and he was standing there, right in front of Jackson, even though he was dead. The sound of the water dripping was coming from him, but he didn't understand it, he looked perfectly dry, his hair styled at the front, looking as though he was simply going out rather than someone who was meant to be dead. He smiled darkly as Jackson took a shocked step back.

"Hello Jackson." He said in that fond manner, like talking to a pet, that he had always used when he was the kanima and he then lashed out, slapping him across the face and sending Jackson stumbling back, crashing into the bed and falling onto it, his former master on him in seconds.

Jackson growled in shock, Matt was dead, Gerard had killed him, drowned him, he was dead, there was no way he could be here, this wasn't real. But as Matt's hands clamped around his neck, choking him, Jackson realised that he was indeed really, possible deadly real.

He extended his claws, trying to raise his hands to claw at Matt, but the grinning face of his former master was mocking him as he tried to raise his arms, and for the first time since coming out of the crate, he realised just how weak he had become in the time he had spent in the box. His arms were so weak, and as he tried to raise them to force Matt off of him as he strangled him, his legs kicking beneath his attacker, Jackson's eyes rolling as he struggled for air under Matt's assault. He couldn't raise his arms, burning pain was travelling up one of them and the other was shaking like crazy, hardly able to try and hold Matt off as he throttled the life out of his former slave. Jackson tried to shove Matt off, but the burning in his arm meant he was only at half strength, and his other arm meant that he virtually had no strength at all, he had become so weak, so feeble. He struggled, gagging for air, his eyes rolling as Matt throttled him and rather than try to shove him off, Jackson plunged the claws of his shaking arm into Matt's hands, making him recoil in pain, loosening his grip on Jackson's neck. And while his arms were a lost cause, his legs weren't, and with a powerful kick he sent Matt sprawling to the floor.

Jackson crawled backwards across the bed, his arms burning with internal fire and he let out a cry of pain as he felt his blackened arm surge with blistering hot heat, running up his entire body, feeling like his entire body was on fire as it happened. As his vision cleared, his blackened arm rebelling every second he realise he had lost track of Matt, who suddenly appeared behind him, knocking him back onto the bed.

Matt was on him again however this time Jackson was ready, and despite the flaming pain that was immolating whatever it was that existed within his arm, he reached up and forced Matt away from him.

As soon as he touched Matt's skin with his blackened arm, both of them gave howls of pain, Matt leering off as his face seemed to burn with a white hot handprint for a second before it returned to normal. Jackson, his head pounding with pain as fire burned through his arm, feeling like he was burning from the inside out and puzzling as to what the hell had just happened, pulled himself to his feet as a furious Matt charged at him, going right for his neck, but this time Jackson was ready for him, shouldering him over his back. Matt gave a yelp of surprise as he bounced down onto the bed and rolled to the ground, Jackson taking advantage of his setback to leap onto the bed, roaring in challenge, claws extending as he struggled to fight through the pain that was consuming him.

But despite his confidence, he knew he couldn't last much longer. He was weak, his blackened arm was burning and the other was too weak to do any serious damage. And Matt...Matt had been his master. He had controlled him for months, using him as a weapon to exact vengeance for his supposed 'death'. Matt was the one who had made Jackson into a killer. Matt has used and abused him, using him as a weapon of vengeance, ripping people apart for their slight against him, using him to carry out the murders he couldn't do himself. Matt had helped to make Jackson what he was. But Matt was dead, he had died, Gerard had killed him and had taken Jackson for his own. But now his former master was here, he was back, and he was trying to kill him, and worst of all, he couldn't do anything to stop it. He looked in panic at his arms, both of which betraying him as Matt got back to his feet and advanced, ready to go again and he gave Jackson a callous smile before he screamed in pain, blue electricity running over his body and Jackson looked into the doorway in relief as a furious Danny, armed with his cattle prod, glared at Matt.

"Aren't you meant to be dead?" he hissed, lunging at Matt as Jackson leapt down, ignoring the pain in his arms to slash at his former master.

Matt snarled in annoyance, not having expected to be faced with both of them and seized Danny's wrist as he lunged at him with the prod again. He then seized Danny by the neck, Jackson giving a furious roar as he did it but before he could stop him, Matt flung Danny bodily from the room, Danny crying out in pain as he slammed into the wall outside his room then ricocheted down the stairs, whimpering and yelling as he tumbled down them with a final nasty sounding crunch at the bottom.

Livid with rage that someone would dare hurt Danny like that, Jackson leapt down from the bed, his claws going right for Matt's throat, he didn't care that Scott didn't want his pack killing, as far as he was concerned Scott wasn't his Alpha. He didn't care that he would be killing again, he didn't care that this was the one who made him a killer in the first place, he just wanted him dead. He roared in fury, his swipe, despite the immolation his arm felt like it was suffering, about to take Matt's head off, but Matt swung at him, catching him in the stomach and winding him, and as Jackson toppled to the floor, wheezing for air, Matt ruffled his hair fondly and ran from the room, thundering down the stairs, making Danny yelp as he slammed open the door and vanished.

Winded, coughing as he tried to get everything to work properly as he got back to his feet, Jackson pulled himself up, one arm quivering the other feeling like it was burning. He looked at both of them, his own body betraying him with either pain or weakness, and leaving both him and Danny open to an attack by someone who was meant to be dead. His arms were shaking, one from the pain, the other just from weakness, and he wrapped them around his body as he headed downstairs, panicking slightly as he reached the bottom of the stairs, finding Danny in a heap.

"Danny, you ok?" he demanded, his fear beginning to rise as his friend remained unresponsive, but to his great relief, Danny groaned and sat up tenderly, a large bruise on his temple which he rubbed gingerly.

"Ow, no, the bastard kicked me in the head on his way out the door. Are you ok?" he asked worriedly, seeing how scared Jackson looked and Jackson hesitated a little before he nodded, but Danny, despite the massive bruise on his forehead, wasn't fooled.

"Jackson?" he asked softly and Jackson showed him his two shaking arms, biting his lip worriedly as he did.

"Look at them, I can't stop it, this one feels like it's on fire," he complained, showing Danny his burned arm, "and this one is just shaking and weak." He explained, showing him the other, and Danny looked at him in fear.

"Jackson, that's...that's not good." Danny said worriedly, taking Jackson's hand to help him get back to his feet, and Jackson nodded.

"Too true. I need to find out what the hell is going on with my body, I just felt...powerless. I should have been able to stop...to stop whatever Matt was with my strength, I'm a werewolf for Christ sake. But I was so weak, I couldn't do anything, I could barely keep him off the time I did." He whispered, looking untrustingly at his own limbs, and Danny bit his lip.

"Ok, this is getting us nowhere. Let's get cleaned up." He said, suddenly all business, and Jackson looked at him hopefully.

"And then we can try and figure out what's wrong with me?" he asked, but to his surprise, Danny shook his head.

"No, instead, we warn the others. If Matt has somehow come back, let's just say he isn't the only dead person who could be back and causing trouble. After we alert the others, then we can focus on you." He said nervously, much more concerned with Jackson's predicament than Matt's reappearance, after all, there was no way he could be back, he couldn't be back.

But with whists walking around the town, who was to say others wouldn't be back as well?

And...someone he loved had a lot of skeletons in their closet, and if the dead were somehow coming back, those skeletons might be looking for revenge.

XX

Malia had wanted Stiles to stay. After seeing that kid, Ewan, hang himself like that, well she hadn't even felt the need for sexy stuff, she just wanted Stiles around to talk to. It wasn't as if she wasn't used to death, after all, she had ripped her own mother and sister apart because she couldn't control her transformation, and she had killed plenty of animals during her time as a coyote. But, this death, unlike the others, there was just no reason for it. She had killed animals to survive. And, awful though it was to believe, the death of her mother and sister had been an accident, due to her being a coyote, but that still made sense in some way that this didn't. Why would this boy want to take his own life? It didn't make sense. According to Mrs Martin he had been struggling a lot but his life had been getting better. But the entire thing still didn't make sense, how could someone's life be so bad that they thought death was the only out? And if their life was getting better, then why would they want to do it?

Malia sat on her bed, her mind abuzz. She just didn't understand it. And why couldn't they save him, how weren't they able to stop the bodies becoming bodies, why did they always have to find them after the fact? It wasn't fair, especially on Lydia, all she saw was an ever increasing body count that she had been unable to stop. Malia hung her head in shame. She hadn't been particularly understanding with Lydia. She did get that Lydia's power didn't work as their did, but now that this Martagh was in town, didn't she stand a chance to learn more about her powers? If she was flailing in the dark as Lydia was, she would take any help she could get. She understood that because of Deaton, the pack were fairly hesitant to trust anyone, and Martagh came under that heading, after all, her appearance was kind of late anyway, but still, she was offering a chance for Lydia to do something other than find the bodies for once, and she just didn't understand why she wasn't taking it with both hands.

Malia wiggled back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around her. Her dad had insisted that she had to go back to school, and regretfully told her that if he knew a bit more, and if he could afford it, he would get a tutor to help her to catch up to the levels of everyone else, after all, she was about eight years behind the rest of them, and she was struggling with school on top of everything else. She had Stiles, and she loved him, and he would do anything for her. Lydia and Kira helped with catching her up with some things, Isaac and Scott with others, and Scott was her Alpha on top of that. But...while the school thing was hard enough, there was everything else that went along with it on top of it. And now, she had just witnessed someone's suicide, and it was bothering her.

Malia wondered if she should go and talk to Stiles. Bad though it sounded, he was more used to death like this than she was, and she just didn't get it, why the boy would kill himself, and why they weren't able to save him. What was the point in them protecting the town if they couldn't even save some kid from hanging himself?

She reached for her phone, when someone knocked on her bedroom door. Curious, she stopped. Her father was out of town today, he was away on work business, no one was meant to be in.

"Stiles?" she asked hopefully, hoping he had come back to see her so she could talk to him about what was on her mind.

However as the door opened, the air left her as she beheld the person on the other side of the door with shock.

She was slightly taller than she was, around the same height as Stiles. She had long dark hair that ran past her shoulders, with red and auburn strands intermingled around it. She was slim, dressed in clothes of mottled colours, and her face was still quite youthful, if a little worn, with gleaming bright green eyes, and as she saw Malia, she smiled sadly.

And for the first time in eight years, Malia laid eyes on her mother.

"Mom?" she asked hesitantly, getting up from the bed.

It couldn't be, her mother was dead, she was the one who had killed her after all, yet here she was, standing right before her as if she had never been gone, as if she hadn't lost her life in the crash, which she had caused, eight years before.

"Malia," her mother said, looking at her in wonder, "look at how grown up you are, how beautiful you became. And Stiles, he seems a nice boy. I'm so proud of you, of what you've built...off of your sister and I's corpses." Her mother said harshly, and Malia, who had been edging closer to her mother, hardly daring to believe it, recoiled.

"Mom, I'm so sorry, I had no control, I would never have hurt you if I could have controlled it!" Malia insisted, but her mother, who was looking at the picture of her and Stiles together when Malia was sitting on Stiles lap, scoffed, sending a look of distaste at her daughter.

"Really? So, you kill me, kill your sister, but you somehow avoid killing this Stiles? Can't help but feel your family are the ones who got the worst deal." Her mother sneered and Malia, tears in her eyes, crossed to her mother, standing in front of her.

"Mom, I'm so sorry! I've learned since then, I'm better, Stiles and the others, they help me! I'm so sorry mom! I never wanted to hurt either of you, but I did, and I hate that I did. Please, please don't go away again, stay here with me, with dad, we can be a family again, please!" Malia begged, tears streaming down her cheeks, taking her mother's hand in her own and putting it onto her wet cheek, and to Malia's delight, her mother rubbed her cheek, her face kind and smiling again.

This was her mother, she had come back. She didn't care about the niceties of it, she just knew that the very thing she had wanted ever since the crash, the dreams that had haunted her even as a coyote, were finally coming true. Her mother was alive, they could be together again, a family again, she wouldn't be a killer anymore. Her mom was back, and she was here. Yeah she was angry at Malia, but considering what she had done, she couldn't blame her for that.

"Oh Malia...my poor little girl. I know you never meant to hurt us sweet pea," her mother said, stroking her hair as she rocked her crying daughter, "but you did. Your father, when he finds out the truth, I can't even imagine how he'll react." She chatted, stroking Malia's hair still, but Malia, beginning to feel unsure of herself, pulled away from her mother, looking scared.

"No, please, dad doesn't know about me being supernatural! It would kill him if he found out I was the one..." Malia begged, her voice failing her as she looked imploringly at her softly smiling mother, a horrible glint in her eye as she beheld her daughter.

"Well yes, that would destroy him, that's true. But that isn't all that would destroy him. Imagine if he found out the real truth, that the real reason his family was dead was nothing to do with him." Her mother purred, and Malia looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean?" she demanded, scared, and her mother laughed.

"You really don't know by now? Oh Malia...not only a murderer but a stupid one at that! There's so much you don't understand." She chided, and Malia took a step back, shaking her head as she finally realised the truth.

"You're not my real mother!" she challenged angrily, tears of rage forming in her eyes as her claws grew along with her fangs and her mother clucked her tongue in disappointment.

"Actually I am. Your father on the other hand...do you think he would love you if he ever found out that a little outcast like you is why his wife and daughter are dead?" she queried, malice giving her face an evil glow, and Malia gave a roar of rage and leapt at her mother, who simply moved out of the way and kicked her in the back, crashing her into the wall.

Malia, her blood pounding in her head as tears of hurt, shame, rage and fear streamed down her face looked across at her smirking mother, who picked up the photo of her and Stiles, the first gift Stiles had ever given her. She remembered how nervous he had been, and remembered wondering why he wasn't wanting to get naked and do stuff that they liked when he gave her it, and then remember his smile of relieved delight when she had told him she loved it and pointed out that it was handy for looking at his cute face even when he wasn't there.

"Put that down." Malia bit out, getting back to her feet, looking at this impostor hatefully, trying to convince herself that it wasn't really her mother, even though it was, it really was, this was her mother, she had made her into this...

"Oh this? So, you care more about this boy than you did about me and your sister? What if I do...this?" her mother asked in a deadly, playful voice and with all of her might she shattered the photo frame in two, ripping the picture apart as well as she did so.

"NO!" Malia roared angrily, her claws going right for her mother's throat, but her mother simply slapped her down to the floor, landing her in the shattered glass of the photo frame which she poked at with shaking, quivering hands.

"You broke it...you destroyed it." Malia whispered sadly as her mother advanced towards her, towering over her.

"Just like you did with me and your sister. Am I supposed to care about this boy?" she sneered as she approached and Malia looked up at her desperately.

"Mom, I, you aren't my real mom!" Malia yelled desperately, even though she knew it was, it was her mother, but this was the mother that she had made when she had inadvertently destroyed her family. This was her punishment, what was the word Stiles had used? She looked at his ripped face and the word came to her. Karma. This was her karma for what she had done.

Her mother gave a cold tinkling laugh and squatted down beside her daughter, petting her shoulder, her face nice again but her personality anything but.

"Actually my baby, that's not true. I am your real mother. But, you want to know the best part?" she asked, reaching to her back for something as Malia growled menacingly, about to rip at her mother, mother or not, her fault she was like this or not, she was going to make her pay. "I might be your real mother, but-" she gloated before she screamed in pain, writhing back in alarm, an action Malia copied as she watched a sword impale itself right into where her heart should be and slice into the centre of her chest, her mother's scream cutting abruptly short as the sword sliced into the spine and her body collapsed to the floor, the flesh already disintegrating around the sword as it fell, and by the time it hit the ground, it was nothing more than a pile of blackened bones, Malia's mother's skull's eyes boring into her as it settled on top of the ripped picture of Stiles and the knife she had been about to plunge into her daughter's back clattering dully against the wall.

Kira panted in disgust, and then, glaring at the pile of rotten bones, crouched down to the floor and wrapped a crying Malia in a tight hug, wincing as Malia screamed as she saw what her own mother had been about to do with her.

"That was my mom, I made her that, I made her want to kill me because of what I did to her, she hates me, I destroyed her, that was my mom!" Malia cried, letting the broken shards of glass from her photo frame fall from her hands and crying onto her friend's shoulder as Kira rocked her, hushing her.

"Shh. No it wasn't, your mom is dead Malia, that, I don't know what it is, but it's not her! That is someone fucking with you, and I promise, we're going to find out who's doing it, and then, we'll make them pay. You hear me?" she asked insistently, taking Malia's face in her hands and looking deep into her eyes, their faces right next to each other, and to her relief, Malia nodded.

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" she whimpered, and Kira, still holding her and hushing her, stroked her hair.

"Stiles asked me to come and check on you, he told me what happened at the school and said you were kind of freaked out. Good thing I did huh?" she asked, indicating the pile of bones and Malia sniffed sadly.

"Yeah. Thank you." She said, her voice wavering, and Kira sat down beside her as Malia sadly played with the broken photo frame, but Kira let it lie, after all, she had just watched her best friend technically kill her mother to save her, even if it wasn't really her mother.

"We'll get you a new one ok?" she asked sweetly, and Malia sniffed and nodded, staring at the ripped picture of her and Stiles and wiping her eyes, only nodding, before her eyes glowed blue in anger at whatever sick game this was that the new big bad was playing.

"We're going to make them pay right?" she ground out, and Kira nodded.

"Definitely." She assured her, and Malia growled angrily, roaring at the pile of her mother's bones in her fury.

"Good." She snarled viciously as Kira hung awkwardly behind her.

XX

Stiles looked at his phone in alarm. He'd asked Kira to go and check on Malia while he cleaned up and got his own head on straight before he went and helped her get her head around this, but far from being confused or worried about the suicide they had accidentally witnessed, she had instead been attacked by her eight years dead mother who had tried to kill her and had played some serious mind games with her.

Stiles let out an animal snarl, it wasn't a wolf, or even the sound of a fox, but it also wasn't human, just like him. Someone had set out to hurt her, to hurt his girl, to hurt his Malia, and now the leftover Nogitsune inside him was crying out for vengeance, to cause chaos, pain, suffering, to make whoever did it, pay. He could feel it, the urge to hurt, to inflict vengeance, to inflict pain, and boy did he want to.

But no, he wasn't the Nogitsune anymore, no matter how much of it was leftover, he was a human, and he would storm, he would rage, and he would help the others get even with whoever had done this to her, but he wouldn't get revenge directly. That wasn't him, he wasn't a monster.

Well, he wasn't an actual monster with powers, claws and fangs anymore, he was just a monster because of what he had done, of all the people he had hurt, because of the friends he had killed.

Shaking his head, he picked up his keys and texted Kira that he was on his way, closing the door behind him. He was about to lock the door when his eyes caught his jeep, and he turned to look at his car in fury. All the tyres had been deflated, all four of them, and he only had one replacement, and his poor jeep was looking rather woebegone looking all deflated as she was.

"What the hell?" he demanded, crossing angrily to his jeep.

This wasn't the first time this had happened, a couple of thugs with a vendetta against his father had done this once before, only to be arrested for doing it again, and he had done it in order to try and stop the Nogitsune from hurting anyone else when he had been possessed, but this, this was all four tyres, come on, his girlfriend's mother had just come back from the dead and had tried to kill her, he needed to get to Malia like five minutes ago!

As he bent down to inspect the tyres, he frowned. These hadn't just been let down, these had been slashed, ripped all the way down to the rim. He swore violently under his breath, checking each one, and he was right, all four of them had been slashed. He looked at the cut, it had to have been done with a knife or something, and he swore once again, figuring he should leave it till his father came home, after all, this was a crime.

Or was it? He stood up, looking in the mirror, frantic for any signs that he looked like he was possessed again, but could see nothing. Could he have done this? He didn't think so, no, he hadn't been here long enough to have lost time, yeah, he can account for every minute, more or less, that he had been home. He shivered, trying to shake the fear that this actually was him who had slashed the tyres. No, it wasn't him, it was gone, the Nogitsune was gone, it wasn't coming back, it couldn't, Isaac had immolated it, he was safe!

Shaking his head in despair, he turned away from the window of his woebegone jeep and was just about to get his phone from his pocket when he heard a whooshing sound that sounded very familiar, a second before an arrow plunged into his stomach. He screamed in pain as he was jerked back against his jeep, blood splattering up the side of the car as another arrow embedded itself in his shoulder, making him scream all the more as he slid down the side of his car, shaking, bleeding and gasping, pain burning every one of his nerves as his bloodied hands held the arrow in his stomach, his tshirt and jeans getting soaked with blood. Tears of pain were in his eyes, which were rapidly losing focus as he tried to retain consciousness, the arrow in his stomach burning in his gut in such a way that he hardly noticed the one in his shoulder. He looked down, panting in pain and fear, at his bloodstained front, the long shaft sticking from his flesh and he looked fearfully at where the arrow had come from.

But he didn't need to. As soon as he had first been hit with the arrow, he knew who had fired it at him.

Karma really was a bitch.

He looked up, his eyes sliding out of focus and back in with the pain he was going through, as she approached, looking exactly as she had the night she died, her face pale, her raven hair bouncing in the wind, her lips and nails red, a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back.

"Hello Stiles." Allison said coldly and despite himself, and being propped against the car, Stiles struggled to move away from her, fearing what was to come, trying to get his blood soaked legs to get him to his feet as she advanced upon him, crouching down before him.

"Allison..." Stiles whimpered in fear, and she narrowed her brown eyes at him.

"Miss me? You should...seeing as you killed me." She spat, and she viciously twisted the arrow in his gut, her eyes boring into him as he reared his head back, screaming in terrified, frantic pain, blood gushing over his hands as she twisted the arrow further in, his screams echoing into the air as he found himself at the mercy of one of his many victims.

**And since we no longer have Teen Wolf to watch (Major Crimes will sustain me for nineteen weeks though). here's another chapter to keep us going!**

**Well, the season is over, and now we have ages to wait till the next episode. But, why the hell do we still not know where Danny and Isaac are? Werent we promised Danny by Jeff Davis, so he basically told us that so he could get out of comic con without being lynched? What the hell?**

**Never mind, someone else can deal with him and im sure well get many fan theories on where Beacon Hills hottest wolf and hottest human in the know are (Isaac and Jackson are hanging out in London, Danny is with Ethan on a romantic break in London so the four of them all wind up together possibly?)**

**Well my dissertation is finally finished, so I am free to write as much as I want by and large, which will start kicking in on Thursday hopefully, I've had a week of blowing up Star Destroyers to take the edge off. So all being well episode three should be finished soon!**

**Now onto the actual chapter, its been so long since I tortured characters, weve done quite well to get to chapter 11 of the story without any major torture, but theres much more to come! I told you we had some unexpected guest appearances, so Isaac's father, Matt, Malias mother (who I see played by Gabrielle Anwar) and last for now, Allison, all of whom are out for vengeance. What are they? What are they meant for? Who conjured them? And most important, is it truly them or some sick twisted perversion?**

**The hunters, both of whom are in the cast list, that Argent is visiting, what do they have to contribute? And will the suicide of the poor lad encourage Lydia to take up Martagh on her offer? And just what is going on in Garrett's head? And the main question os of course what the hell is Agravaine up to?**

**Right, after I update my other account, I shall start the next chapter straight away while the iron is lukewarm. But lovely people, I would love to hear what you think of our unexpected cameos and the chapter, so please, as always, favourite, follow and most importantly review, I will be eternally grateful, and remember to vote in the poll, which will last the duration of episode 3!**


	14. Episode 3: Revenant Part 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

Ethan frowned as he looked at the text Aiden had sent him. A kid committing suicide in the school, and Aiden and the others walking in on it, that was the last thing any of them needed. But the manner of it all, it just didn't make sense. He had overheard the kid in question happily telling his friends the other day that things were getting better at home, that things were finally starting to look up. That was what made this all the stranger, he professed to have no reason to want to kill himself, yet now the poor kid was dead. It just didn't sit well with him, not well at all.

Come to think of it, that wasn't the only thing not sitting well with him. It was like something you have in the back of your head, like a little niggling feeling, but whatever it was, it was small, barely noticeable, but it was there nonetheless, a general feeling of unease. He'd never felt anything quite like it, but whatever it was, he didn't like it, just this feeling that something, somewhere, somehow, was going to go wrong.

He sighed as he trailed through to the bathroom. The murders were bad enough in this town without suicides being added to them, especially by kids even younger than he and Aiden were. He tiredly rubbed his face and his quiffed hair as he leaned against the sink, looking thoroughly miserable. He knew his mood was bad before the news about the poor kid, and that was only really down to his own stupid fault anyway.

He should have told Danny the truth from the start. Danny hadn't said so much as good morning to him since he had found out about the high body count he and Aiden had racked up over the years, and he hated it. He missed Danny, and he wanted him back, but he had no idea of how he was going to go about convincing Danny of his good intentions. He didn't get it. Well he did. He knew that Scott was the exception rather than the rule, and while he had convinced most of the others to accept the twins, there was still the fact that the two of them were murderers. While the pack accepted it, that was because they knew and had more than earned the chance at forgiveness that Scott had given them, they had worked for it. Danny, having found out after the fact that the two of them had a rather high pile of bodies behind them, wasn't privy to what everyone else had been and now simply thought of Ethan as a monster.

He looked miserably into the mirror. He missed Danny, he knew he needed time, space, to wrap his head around all this, and he understood that. Danny wasn't like say Scott, who had simply become used to the bodies as a matter of course, or even Jackson, who had added to them unwillingly, no, he was kind, and sweet, and was much less likely to ever encourage killing someone to stop them. He wouldn't hurt anyone, and finding out that the person he loved was actually a killer had to have pulled the earth out from under him. But that didn't stop Ethan missing him. It was that Danny was like that that made him love him. He had made him feel human, made him want to change, but now the very thing that made him love Danny, that made Danny who he was, was the thing that was splitting them apart. Danny now knew he was a killer, and like any sane person he was freaked. In his position he would be too.

But what if Danny never accepted it? What if he decided he couldn't date a killer? All he knew was he couldn't bear the thought of losing Danny. If Danny was repulsed enough by the knowledge that he was a killer to dump him, to make him as miserable as Aiden was now, then where did they fit in? They were loyal to Scott to a fault, and would willingly die for him, but, while Scott was part of the reason, they had originally only come back to town for Lydia and Danny. True, it had gotten them a pack, friends who cared about them, but the people they loved were the largest allure and...they just made it all seem better when they were there with them, and now, it looked as if both twins wouldn't have either of the people they loved.

He shook his head and looked into the mirror, his thoughts still on Danny and what he would do if Danny said he couldn't be with him anymore, but realising his claws were growing in distress at that thought, he shook his head and splashed some water into his face, trying to use the cool water to calm himself down.

And then when he stood up, he saw only glowing golden eyes and blond hair before the curtain pole that the landlady had asked them to install smashed into the back of his head.

He was briefly aware of his body slouching down, his eyes rolling back in his head as he fell chin first into the sink, bouncing off it and then collapsing to the floor unconscious, water trickling down the neck of his hoody as he did so. His attacker sniffed in amusement, and then clawed hands took a hold under his arms and dragged him through to the living room, Ethan's limp body flopping about weakly as his attacker prepared for phase two of the plan.

XX

Lydia sat down on her bed, her head still thumping like it always did following one of her episodes, so to speak. She could do nothing to save that boy, and now he was dead, all because she was unable to control her powers. Malia was right, she needed to get a handle on them, and she needed a handle on them now, before she let anyone else die. She was fed up of finding the bodies, she wanted to find the people before it was too late, just for once.

But as she looked sadly around her room, she felt a growing sense of trepidation. That would mean one of two things, either she relied on this Martagh, who she was seriously unsure about, or she relied on Peter, who she couldn't stand. But either way, she needed to make a decision, because unless she learned to control her powers, people would keep dying, and all she would be able to do is watch from the sidelines as it happened. No, it was time to change how she did things.

And besides, she reflected sadly, it wasn't as if she didn't have any reason not to do it. She didn't have Aiden anymore, Allison was gone, and she was fed up of people she cared about, in fact she was just fed up of people in general getting hurt. Where did that leave her?

She got to her feet, wondering about which path she should choose when she heard Prada start barking. Frowning, she wondered what could be bothering her little dog. After all, it wasn't as if she was considering a life changing decision or anything, nothing like that. Rolling her eyes, and vowing to figure out what her next move was after she dealt with Prada, she headed down the stairs, wincing as powerful winds suddenly started battering the windows. She hesitated as she came down the stairs, Prada's barking getting louder as she did so. The wind and rain were battering her windows, but beyond the boundary of the garden, the sun was blazing, a wintery sun admittedly, but it was blazing. What the hell?

And why the hell was Prada barking so much?

"Prada!" she cried in exasperation as she came down the stairs to see her little dog cowering in the corner, glaring at the door and barking loudly.

"Prada?" Lydia asked uncertainly, seeing her poor little girl cowering in fear as the rain and wind battered the door.

She approached her dog worriedly, wondering how best to soothe her, when the little dog turned and growled at her menacingly, her sharp little teeth bared and a second too late she realised what was going on as the door blasted open.

As wind and rain battered into the house, Prada gave a frightened yelp and ran off into the storm that seemed to be attacking just the house, ignoring her owner's pleas for her to return, after all, there were dangerous creatures out there, and there were whists in town, she didn't want her dog becoming one of them. But right now she had other problems.

"Jennifer." Lydia ground out, glaring at the person who had strolled through the door.

As the wind blew into the house, Jennifer smiled, her dark predatory smile as she strolled towards the banshee she had tried her hardest to kill.

"Hello Lydia." Jennifer snarled, and with a gesture Lydia was blown over the room, slamming into the wall and dropping down in pain.

"You're meant to be dead!" Lydia spat at her, trying to get back to her feet, but the wind had been knocked from her, and she was having trouble focusing as the Darach strolled into her home.

After her final battle with Deucalion, Deaton and Morrell had tried to find her, only to have no luck. Cora and Derek had also headed out to look for her, following her trail so far before it had vanished entirely. While it had vanished near the nemeton, the fact that the smell has vanished completely had led them to conclude that the wounds Deucalion had inflicted on her had been enough to finish the bitch, and they had thought no more of it.

Yeah maybe they should start making sure all the big bads really were dead before they came back and bit them in the ass again.

But while it was Jennifer, and she was clearly in command of some of her powers, Lydia couldn't help but think there was something different with her, she was somehow diminished, not as powerful as she ought to be. Jennifer however didn't appear to be that encumbered as she crouched down beside her, grabbed Lydia's hair as she tried to get back to her feet, and slammed her head into the wall, making Lydia cry out in pain, stars flashing in front of her vision.

"You just had to ruin...everything didn't you? I was all ready, all prepared to wipe them all out like the monsters they are, and I would even have Derek helping me, but no, you had to open your screaming mouth, and let them know who I really was. You made me change my plans Lydia, and I can't help but feel, killing your boyfriend wasn't quite enough for you getting in the way of my revenge." Jennifer snarled, and despite the stars in her eyes, Lydia snorted in amusement.

"Um, Aiden's still alive. You might have killed their joined form but both twins are quite happily doing what the Alpha who beat you tells them to do." Lydia taunted and Jennifer's eyes flashed.

"What?" she demanded, and Lydia nodded.

"Yep, the twins are alive and work for Scott now. You know, considering you set out to destroy the entire Alpha pack, you only really killed one of them. What was it with you and Kali? Old girlfriend?" Lydia taunted and as Jennifer's eyes widened in fury, Lydia kicked her in the chest, knocking the Darach off her and scrambling to her feet, Jennifer hissing behind her, and with a wild gesture she sent another empty QVC box hurtling at Lydia, which she barely managed to duck and avoid.

Dashing up the stairs, Lydia slammed the doors shut as she passed them, hoping that the noise would at least distract Jennifer long enough for her to escape from her. This couldn't be happening, Jennifer was dead, but yet here she was, with at least some of her powers restored to her, chasing her through her own damned house.

"Lydia!" Jennifer called in a falsely sweet voice as Lydia leaned against the door, wondering why, out of the entire pack, she was the only one without any weapons or abilities that could actually help her when she was in the process of being attacked in her own damned house.

Lydia was breathing heavily. Jennifer was back, and if the freak weather bashing against the house was any indication, she was nearly as powerful as she had been before she had disappeared. But she still couldn't help but feel that there was something off with her, something she was missing, and she needed to know what, otherwise she really was dead.

There was no way that she could get help here in time, and besides, only Scott might have a chance against her if she was truly back.

Lydia ground her teeth into her bottom lip. She was so fed up of this, of creatures, of dead bodies, of being the one who was the damsel in distress endlessly. She was fed up of being the one who was getting kicked around. And now here she was again, at the mercy of someone who would have quite happily destroyed the entire pack, someone who was meant to be dead.

If she got out of this alive, all this was going to change.

The door blew open behind her, sending her crashing to the floor as Jennifer, now revealed in her true, scarred form as the Darach, entered, wind whipping around her as she advanced upon the banshee. Lydia snarled and dived for the floor, avoiding the blow as Jennifer sent her tv flying at her, smashing it into the wall. Lydia let out a panicked noise and looked for anything she could use as a weapon, though to no avail, and she barely had time to throw herself to the ground and dodge the small bookcase that was thrown at her by the increasingly irate Darach. As Lydia jumped out of the way with a scream of panic, the case smashed through the window, spraying a wailing Lydia with glass as the case fell out of sight, allowing the vicious Darach to advance upon her foe.

"You know, you sticking your nose in is where it all went wrong. Yeah Scott didn't help but it was you who lost me Derek, you who blabbed to everyone and got me figured out. I had it all worked out. And then, you, my little screamer, came along and ruined it all!" Jennifer stormed, gesturing and sending Lydia hurtling into her dresser with a smash, the Darach's misshapen face leering at her as she approached.

"Why, because I let them know you were the one going around killing innocent people?" she spat back, trying to get back to her feet, but she could feel small trickles of blood running down her back, glass impaled in her back from being blasted into her mirror.

Jennifer bent down, bringing her hideous face close to Lydia's, Lydia meeting her gaze unflinchingly despite how horrible her attacker looked.

"No, because you ruined my revenge! I spent years planning, lying in wait, getting stronger, getting ready to destroy Kali, Deucalion, every single one of them, and right when I was finally about to destroy them, you come along and ruin everything! A banshee, here in Beacon Hills. Well my little screamer, this time, this time it'll be different. See, by stopping me, Scott earned himself the promotion to the position of person I want dead most, and well, as Kali learned, and as you're about to, I always pay my debts." Jennifer vowed silkily, and Lydia let out a panicked noise as the Darach raised her hand, determined to finish Lydia.

This couldn't be happening. Jennifer was dead, and now she was somehow back, and now she wanted to kill Scott. Could she be the person behind the whist attacking Scott's grandmother, it would seem logical if she was, but she couldn't help but think that there was something that she was missing, that there was more to this somehow. But that didn't help her now.

"Oh god please help..." she begged, pinned by Jennifer's power as the Darach prepared to finish the one who she saw as the one who ruined her vengeance on the Alpha pack.

And then, with a vicious growl, the Darach turned away from Lydia, raising her hand warily at the window that was currently letting all the wind and rain possible in as a column of autumnal leaves blew through the window to the floor, materialising into Martagh, her staff in hand and her expression less than impressed as she beheld Jennifer.

"You should not be here abomination. Your time has ended." Martagh growled menacingly, and Jennifer glared at her, her hand raising, clearly preparing to fight.

"Well, I'll be damned, a Celtic warrior, here in Beacon Hills. A Scuffock, a Boudican warrior, here of all places. Come to save your apprentice?" Jennifer sneered, and Martagh shot Lydia an exasperated look.

"She is not my apprentice. But it doesn't matter, you shouldn't be here, you are a twisted abomination of yourself. You were a powerful being once Jennifer Hale, but your hatred and need for revenge twisted you into this foul creature before me. Now, go back to your rest." Martagh intoned, and Jennifer gave a shriek of mocking laughter.

"What do you mean, you want her to go back to sleep, how will that help?" Lydia demanded and Martagh let out a sigh of exasperation.

"No child. She is dead, she was killed, her presence here is an abomination. Someone, or something, conjured her, not realising the power of the thing they were creating. This is powerful dark energy, far beyond the abilities of any of your companions in the town. Whoever conjured her either has no idea of what this woman once was, or does know and does just not care. Either way, it is my duty to send her back into the abyss from which she crawled out of." Martagh spat angrily, and Jennifer snarled.

"No, I'm not going back! I don't care what brought me back, but I have a job to do, and I won't be sent back, and I won't be denied again! I returned, and I will destroy every last vestige of the Alpha pack, and if that means destroying all of Scott's pack as well, well then, that's just too bad. He let the demon wolf live! He's just as culpable, just as corrupt! I will wipe out every trace of the Alpha pack, and after what he did, saving the twins, sparing Deucalion, Scott can die with them!" Jennifer stormed, and Martagh merely raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed? An intriguing plan. It could work, if allowed. Sadly for you, I don't intend to allow you to accomplish your plans." Martagh said simply, and twirling her staff around her, she moved like a cheetah, crossing the room in a blur.

Jennifer gave a vicious snarl as Martagh sprang, landing catlike in front of her, her staff sweeping out and knocking her off her feet. Jennifer fell with a hiss, her hand gesturing wildly, sending Lydia's chair hurtling through the air towards her, but Martagh was already on the move, flipping away from the attack, allowing the chair to slam into the wall, sending the shards everywhere. With a gesture, Martagh swirled the various shards into the air with her staff, forming a wooden cyclone which she then directed at Jennifer. The Darach raised a hand, shattering the wood into dust as she did so, with a blast of energy coming from the end of Martagh's staff, bound right for the twisted druid. The Darach gave a lethal cry, leaping across the room and slamming her fist into Martagh's chin. Martagh allowed herself a snarl of annoyance as she twirled her staff around her, catching Jennifer in the head and then in the stomach, before she blew her out of the door with a gesture.

Jennifer slammed to the floor in the corridor, giving a furious scream that shattered all the windows in the room and in the hallway, and she directed them towards Martagh. Martagh span her staff around as a shield, blurring with energy, stopping the lethal shards of glass from getting through before sweeping her staff in a long arc, with the curtains ensnaring Jennifer. Jennifer grunted in frustration as the Scuffock advanced upon her, but Jennifer then backed up, slamming her foot into Martagh and knocking her to the floor, releasing herself from the curtains as she did so, trampling Martagh as she made her escape. Lydia emerged from her room to see Jennifer leap down the stairs, Martagh hot on her heels, a blast of pure white energy blasting a hole in the staircase as the missed the Darach. Leaping down a flight of stairs, Martagh sent several pure white blasts at Jennifer, the Darach turning with a furious snarl to meet the attacks head on, gesturing, knocking the blasts away from her, Lydia shrieking in fright and alarm as chairs, cupboards and tables blew apart in an explosion of white power. The final blast Jennifer caught in her hand before deflecting it back towards Martagh, angled so it would take out Lydia.

Martagh rolled her eyes in annoyance, flicking her hand outwards and Lydia toppled to the ground with a yelp of surprise as the white blast exploded right where her head had been. Martagh snarled in sheer annoyance, springing down the last few steps and slamming her staff into Jennifer's chin. Her staff was a blur, glowing with white energy as Lydia watched, transfixed, the power of her staff slamming into the Darach and with a final elegant twirl, Martagh spun around, stabbing her backwards facing staff upwards, and Jennifer, who had been snarling in fury, let out a croak of surprise as the staff punctured her chest, white energy emitting from the end protruding from her back. Jennifer looked at Martagh in shock, but the Scuffock simply sniffed, removed her staff and flipped it around, before a final orb of energy blasted into Jennifer, and with a scream, Jennifer's body erupted into tiny little fragments, the used decayed skeleton toppling to the floor like kindling.

Lydia peeked meekly above the shattered remnants of her banister, gulping as she saw the mess that the duel had made of her home. Martagh grunted in annoyance as she observed the skeleton that had once been Jennifer, and with a tap of her staff, the bones vanished.

"Are you alright?" Martagh asked, surveying the damage sheepishly, and started waving her staff haphazardly, things zooming back together as she did it.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you." Lydia managed as her house continued to erratically put itself back together.

"You very nearly weren't. If you do not learn how to use your abilities, to learn to defend yourself, what on earth do you plan to do with yourself? That's the second time I've had to save you now because you are unable to help yourself. I am not your bodyguard, I am your teacher, but only if you wish me to be. Don't expect me to keep wasting my time here waiting for you to decide what you're going to do with yourself! There are dangerous forces at work here, and your dallying is only endangering you and yours." She snapped as the repairs finished, and Lydia longed to throw a diatribe back at her, after all, she had just been attacked by a dead woman, and her powers had been caused by a psychotic werewolf, and yes she did want to learn more about them, learn to use them so she didn't have to watch anyone else die, but how on earth was she to trust this woman?

Debating that with herself, she instead asked a question with more immediate ramifications, making the Scuffock scowl as she did it.

"What was she?" she asked, despite the scowl, Martagh did look as though she thought it was a good question.

"As I'm sure you know, she was once a Darach, as to what she was now, I have no idea. However it's fairly clear that whoever dragged her from the ground had no idea of her power. I must investigate. Consider what I said child, and bear it in mind, because I will not save you again." She warned, and with a swirl of autumnal leaves she was gone, leaving Lydia alone with her very confused thoughts.

XX

"So you're lacrosse captain?" Dexio asked as Scott helped him lift a rather large Great Dane by the name of Charles into an overnight cage, and Scott nodded.

"Yep, and Isaac is swim captain too." He replied proudly, and Dexio smiled, his eyes passing over Scott as he tucked Charles under a cover.

"Cool. I might check it out while I'm here." He said, and Scott looked at him in renewed interest.

"What, did you used to play lacrosse?" he asked hopefully, and Dexio nodded.

"Sure did, I hate soccer but the lacrosse team at my uni was good and I played as an attacker for two years. I actually kind of miss it." He told the younger boy and with that the two of them started chatting in earnest as they came back into the examination room, Deaton watching, a shrewd expression on his face.

As expected, the two made a good team, which from a human professional level was good, it meant after Dexio was a bit more settled in, he would be able to leave the two of them on their own and have a few days off. While that thought was rather blissful in and of itself, the fact that Scott, arguably the most powerful creature now in Beacon Hills, hadn't picked up that Dexio was of the supernatural also meant to Deaton that he had done the right thing. After all, one could never be too careful, and having Dexio here would be rather useful should things go badly. And h couldn't deny that with his father being a dick and the closest thing he had to a brother being Derek, well, Dexio could be a good presence in his life. And if Dexio thought he hadn't noticed the appreciative look he had given Scott when he had first arrived then he was sorely mistaken.

But even if he did like Scott, he was staying well out of it, he'd learned that lesson the hard way.

"Scott? I have that information you asked for." Deaton said, though he sent Scott a hard look for how he'd treated him the previous night, he passed him the information he had gathered on whists and the Pombero, but other than smiling in thanks he didn't seem to notice the look he was giving his young protégé, to Deaton's slight annoyance.

But that was after all nothing to bother about, after all, while he was very fond of Scott, there was no denying that he was rather oblivious.

"Have you got any idea of what's causing it?" Scott asked, ignoring the fact that Dexio was looking at them both curiously, and he shook his head.

"None I'm afraid. There's just no way of telling who or what is behind this, not without further information." He explained, and Dexio was about to ask Scott something when the young Alpha suddenly froze, stopping as if he heard something that the other two hadn't heard.

Deaton looked at him curiously, wondering just what it was he had heard. The last time he had done that he had figured out that a cat had just gone into labour and had kittens appearing left right and centre, which had saved them a whole lot of trouble. But then, he was the Alpha, and he was deeply linked with many, if not all of his pack, so perhaps it was a pack thing that he was picking up on.

But as Scott's expression quickly changed to one of alarm, his eyes glowing red, he was left in no uncertain terms as to what he had heard.

One of his pack was in trouble.

"Isaac..." he whispered in alarm before tearing out of the room, leaving Dexio looking at Deaton curiously as they heard Scott blast out of the vets.

"Um, is he allowed to do that? Where's he going?" he asked, shocked by Scott's abrupt departure, and Deaton frowned, Scott had looked terrified, and granted, if it was Isaac who was in danger, then Scott's reaction would always be to act first and think later.

"Home." Deaton explained, and Dexio bit his lip, looking worried, and Deaton patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry he's very dedicated. Scott is a good lad, and his heart is always in the right place. He...you'll learn that this town is very odd, and has people with interesting qualities in it. Scott is one of them. Believe me, he wouldn't have left quite so abruptly unless he really had to." He assured him, but Dexio still looked less than convinced.

"But how does he know he has to go somewhere?" he asked in confusion and Deaton smacked his lips as he considered his answer.

"You know how some people can tell when a loved one is in danger even when they're nowhere near them? Scott is like that with many people, and when he loves someone, he loves them totally. It wouldn't surprise me if he could feel something bad happen to Isaac even if they were at opposite ends of the planet. Trust me Dexio, Scott has a very good reason for leaving. You don't need to worry about him." He assured him, and Dexio looked at him curiously.

"He really loves this Isaac doesn't he?" he asked, and Deaton smiled.

"Yes he does." He assured him, noticing the slight disappointment on Dexio's face as he nodded.

XX

Stiles shuddered in pain as he tried to pull the arrow from his gut, the pain crippling him. He wasn't like the others, even though he had leftover Nogitsune of some sort left in him, if the thing causing the wound was still in him, he didn't heal nearly so fast. And as he now had an arrow in his shoulder and his gut, both of which were severely hampering the latent healing ability that he had, he was really wishing he had some idea of just what his leftover healing powers could do because damn this hurt.

After twisting the arrow in his gut some more, Allison had dragged him into the house, and he was now propped up against the kitchen door, a streak of blood having been left on the floor as she had pulled him in. She was standing above him, and it was all he could do to try and avoid looking at her, it was his nightmare, it had become real, she had come after him for getting her killed. He didn't want to know how, or why, all he knew was that she was here, and she was back for revenge. He whimpered a little as he tried to pull the arrow out, but the pain was too great, making him give out a low groan as she prowled before him, her brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hurts doesn't it? See, compared to what you did to me, that's nothing. Have you ever been run through by a demonic sword? Felt the cold metal burn your insides while the thing that you know just murdered you looks at you with those foul, glowing yellow eyes that make it quite clear it doesn't give a shit that you're about to die? Have you felt the blood gush out of you, knowing you're about to die? Do you know what it feels like, leaving the only person in your family alone in the world? Dying for someone you love who doesn't even love you back? I thought of any of them, that's the thing you would get the most considering your pathetic stalking of Lydia. And do you know what it felt like while I bled to death in Scott's arms, being held by the first person I ever loved, knowing that he was the last person I was ever going to see!" Allison screeched, Stiles screaming as she twisted the arrow into his gut still further, blood gushing down onto his legs and onto the floor, his head reeling back in pain as the huntress stood above him, breathing angrily.

"Allison, I'm sorry..." Stiles sobbed and she glared down at him, bristling at his shaking voice.

"Oh, you're sorry? Well that makes everything better! I died Stiles! I died because of you, because you were a monster! And I was one of the ones stupid enough to try to save you, and how do I get repaid? One of your demon minions makes a hole in my body! Did you go to my funeral Stiles? Did you say anything? Or did you just sit there, thankful that you were alive and I was dead?" she spat venomously, and Stiles shook his head frantically.

"No, Allison, please! I swear, I never wanted you to get hurt, I would have happily died if it meant you were alive! I didn't want you to die, I never wanted that!" Stiles cried as she twisted the arrow a little bit more, making him scream in pain, his eyes rolling as he tried to stay conscious.

Although, a small part of his mind mused darkly, he had done this to Scott, so once again, it was only karma that it was happening to him. He needed to get the arrows out of him, then his leftover healing ability could kick in and he could try and get out of this. But, as he looked up into the tortured eyes of Allison, her brown eyes burning with fear, pain, anger, despair, he asked himself, did he really deserve to survive? After all, she was right, he had been a monster. He had killed dozens of people, possessed or not, Aiden and Isaac had nearly been among that number and the young woman before him was the victim who had had the most significant impact on the entire pack. One of their own, someone they all loved, dead, no more, simply because of him. Why should he live while she was dead?

Allison glared down at him, wiggling the arrow in his shoulder simply for a change of pace, watching in malicious pleasure as he gritted his teeth against the pain, enjoying hearing him groan as he tried to keep from crying out.

"You might not have wanted it, but it happened anyway. You were so keen to save Lydia, the girl you secretly want even now you've got a girl of your own, that I was just collateral damage." She spat, and Stiles shook his head.

"No, Allison, please, it's not like that, you wanted to save her too!" he reminded her, and she glowered at him, a cold smile on her face.

"You know, hindsight's a wonderful thing. All we would have had to do to save Lydia is kill you, but Scott convinced us not to. You remember when you were all for killing Jackson? Jackson killed a hell of a lot less people than you did but you, you sanctimonious shit, you were all keen to put him down, telling Scott that death was the only way to go. Would you have said the same thing about you I wonder? You know Stiles, you're really quite unpleasant at times, and I'm not even counting everything you did, killing so many innocents, nearly killing Isaac, and oh, killing me. Like the entire thing with Lydia, borderline stalker, and then being all jealous and butt hurt because Scott made out with her. Same goes for Scott and Isaac, do you really resent him that much? Scott's still your best friend even if he is in love with Isaac. But no, you can't stand any rival, was that why you went after him, hoping to drive him from Scott? You're twisted, malevolent and foul, and always were, and your life is somehow worth more than mine? I died to save your life? How is that fair?" she shrieked and Stiles screamed in desperation, pulling at his hair in despair, hating what she was saying, and not wanting to admit there was more truth in her words than she was willing to admit.

"I'm sorry, please..." h begged, tears falling down his face before he let out another cry as she stabbed the arrow further into his stomach, making him cry, his bloodied legs trying to kick but with the blood loss and how weak he was, it wasn't going to do him any good.

"You know, I considered hunting down Malia and killing her, so you can feel something like what Scott felt after your demonic friends ran me through, but I figured she had enough of her own problems. So here we are Stiles. The murderer and the murdered. And my question is, why should you live? We both know there's stuff you're not telling the others/ We both know you're still a monster Shtiles. That's how your friend the Nogitsune said it isn't it? Shtiles? So, how can I let a monster live when we don't know how much monster is left over?" she asked darkly, pushing the arrow further into his stomach, Stiles grunting in pain as she did it.

Stiles shuddered in pain, begging the pain to end. She was right, he was horrible, he was foul, he was a monster, and he didn't deserve to live. He should have been the one who died, he should have been the one they buried, it was what he deserved after he had killed so many, he should be the one tormenting the living, however the hell that was happening, whatever the hell Allison now was. He found he didn't care, he just wanted it to end, the pain, the nightmares, the memories of everything he had done. He wanted her to finish him, and he was about to beg her to do it, to force the arrow all the way through when she grabbed both arrows, clearly about to grant his wish.

"How do I know the monster is really gone?" Allison snarled, and to Stiles surprise, something changed within him, and she let out a yelp of shock as he suddenly seized her wrists with enough force to squeeze the bones together.

"Yeah, how do you?" he purred darkly, and her eyes widened in surprise as he bent her arms away from her, making her cry out in pain and with a savage, animal growl, he pushed her away from him, sending her crashing to the floor, her eyes widening in alarm as, despite the pain he was in, he struggled to get to his feet, blood still gushing from both wounds.

However, despite this sudden burst of strength, he wasn't strong enough to get to his feet and he groaned weakly as he slid back down to the floor, leaving a trail of blood down the door, but taking advantage of Allison's temporary incapacitation, he ripped both arrows out of him, yelling in pain as he did so before throwing the arrows clattering to the floor, glaring weakly up at Allison as he did so, her bow now aiming an arrow directly at her head.

"It's the only way Stiles." She said as Stiles shook, waiting for her to end it, but to his surprise, relief, and, ashamed though he was to admit it, slight resentment, a gun clicked behind Allison's head which made her pause before she fired the arrow.

"Put the bow down Allison." The sheriff warned darkly, his hand quite steady despite the formerly dead friend of his son being alive and well and about to shoot an arrow into him.

"I have to do this, he's my friend, but he's a monster. Scott shouldn't have saved him, not when he let me die for him." Allison bit out angrily, but John shook his head sadly.

"He's not a monster Allison, he's my son, and your friend. You don't want to do this." He told her, and she hissed.

"He's the reason I'm dead, he got me killed, why the hell shouldn't I want to do it?" she demanded, and the sheriff looked at her simply.

"Because unlike your mother, your aunt and your grandfather, you were one of the few decent human beings that your family churned out, and you won't kill unless you have to. The Nogitsune is gone Allison, it's finished, your dad and Isaac destroyed it. It's over." He intoned and she shook her head defiantly.

"No it isn't, part of it is still in him, and if you can't see that..." she began, readying her bow once again, but John moved, swiping at her with the butt of his gun.

The huntress danced out of the way, hissing in annoyance, taking the arrow from her bow and plunging it into John's shoulder, making him yell in pain while Stiles struggled to get to his feet to help his father, shouting at her furiously.

Seeing that she had lost control of the situation, Allison kicked out, lashing Stiles in the chin and sending him crashing through to the kitchen while she turned, shouldering her way past the sheriff who opened fire, bullets barely missing her as she vanished out of the house and disappeared from sight.

John swore under his breath, and looked to see Stiles sitting up, wincing a little as he held his stomach.

"Stiles, leave it, let me see." He chided, hurrying over to his son who groaned a little as his father dabbed at the blood.

"Dad, what are you doing home so early?" he wheezed, rubbing his shoulder tenderly and he looked at his son as he fussed over him.

"Well, this morning we got a call to the graveyard, and we found a load of bodies had been dug up. When we got the list, I figured something might be coming after the pack, but I figured you were safe at school, at least until I heard about the suicide, so I came home to check on you. When I saw that Allison was one of the bodies that had been dug up, I got worried that you might be her target." He explained, and Stiles looked at him in alarm.

"If you thought we might be in danger, why the hell didn't Parrish say anything at the school?" he demanded angrily, and John sent him a chiding look as he forced him back against the door.

"Like I said, we thought you were safe at school, and the suicide probably drove it from his mind. And we've had a busy day, there's been about five suicides in the town all day, so we never had time to get word to you all. If we knew you actually would be attacked we'd have let you know straight away, but how the hell were we meant to guess that you would be attacked by the ones that were dug up?" John asked, still feeling ashamed, and Stiles sighed, his father was right, how would they, would anyone, have guessed, that the bodies that had been dug up would actually attack them?

"Ok, never mind that right now, we need to warn the others, I can make an educated guess at who else has come back to haunt us, we need to tell the others." Stiles said, about to rise, but John pushed his son back down, giving him an annoyed look.

"Stiles, she shot you with arrows, now I don't know much about what the hell is going on, or how the hell Allison came back, but I do know you need...a...hospital." he trailed off as he inspected his son's wounds.

"What?" Stiles asked, quite nervous as to what his father had seen, and how much had he seen before, had he seen him threatening Allison? What had that been, was she right, was there leftover Nogitsune still in him?

"There's hardly a wound at all." His father said in blunt shock, looking unflatteringly at his son's stomach, hardly daring to believe it.

Stiles looked down, filled with trepidation, and saw, to his shock and slight dismay, that his father was right. With the arrows gone, the leftover Nogitsune healing power had kicked in and the wound had now largely healed, just as it had on his shoulder.

"That's, that's not possible." John said in shock, and Stiles looked to his father, his mind racing.

He hadn't wanted anyone else to know about his leftover Nogitsune, let alone his father. The people he had had to tell so far were bad enough, there were too many. And now his father knew, unless he did something very quickly.

"Mustn't have been that bad then." Stiles said, shrugging, and John looked at him suspiciously, not believing a word of it.

"Stiles, there's blood everywhere. You were seriously wounded, she had attacked you with arrows, you had arrows sticking inside of you, and now suddenly you don't have a wound at all and you expect me to thing that's alright? No, there's something not right here, so what the hell happened?" John demanded of his son, and Stiles simply shrugged.

"Can't tell you dad, maybe there was just a lot of blood but it wasn't that deep. Come on, we need to warn the others, and wouldn't hurt to get Melissa to see to you either." Stiles said, getting to his feet, his dad looking at him suspiciously, and Stiles felt his eyes on him as he vanished upstairs to change, wanting nothing more than to put off the conversation his dad now wanted to have.

Shutting the door, he leaned against it, closing his eyes. Allison was back, one of his victims, the one whose death had hit the pack the hardest, was back. He had no idea how she was back, but she was, and she was here to kill him. And the worst part of it was, she thought he was a monster, and now, hearing it from her mouth just made it all the more real. He should be the one who was dead, he was a monster, regardless of the Nogitsune being gone. It was his fault that she and so many others were dead, and now she was back to put him down like Scott should have done from the off, but he was too kind to do so.

He had been so close, so close to letting go of all of it, to moving on, to atoning for everything he had done but his dad had stopped Allison before she had put him down like the monster he was. He knew he shouldn't feel this way, but he couldn't help it, because deep down, he knew that while the Nogitsune was gone from the world and he wasn't possessed anymore, there was still something of it that remained. The Nogitsune, gone though it might be, was still in him. They weren't just leftovers, they weren't perks. He had been trying to deny it, but deep down, he was still the exact same monster as that thing had made him. It was still in him, like a cancer, and one that he couldn't fight, and one that was threatening to consume him.

He pulled at his hair in despair. The Nogitsune was still inside him, it's power, it's malevolence, he still had it in him, how much did it still control him, how much was he in it's power? How long would it be before he hurt Scott again? Malia? One of the others? The Nogitsune had made him do things he had never thought he would do, made him turn on his friends, made him hurt, made him kill. And it was still inside him, and he had to do something with it before he lost control, before it killed Scott and Malia and everyone else he cared about.

Allison was right, the monster was still inside him.

But he wouldn't let it win, he wouldn't lose his battle this time. He wouldn't let it hurt the people he cared about.

Even if he had to get Allison to help him stop himself.

XX

Aiden frowned as he considered what he had left Garrett with. For a start, it hadn't felt right, leaving him at the orphanage. He knew that was where the kid lived, but it was quite obvious that Garrett didn't like the fact that he lived there, and leaving him there after they had found that boy, well that didn't sit well with him either. His mind abuzz with what had occurred at the school, and Garrett's situation, he entered into the apartment building, for once ignoring the fact that soon he and Ethan were going to be homeless.

He knew Scott would help however he could, but that didn't help them much, Scott had his own problems, and Isaac already lived with him, they couldn't rely on him to help them that much. Melissa was a help, meeting with them every week to try and figure out what they were going to do, and had half heartedly suggested selling their bikes, but seeing as that suggestion had gone down like a lead balloon they had decided not to go through with that course of action.

As he got into the apartment, his mind was mulling over everything that had happened recently. Lydia breaking up with him abruptly, the Pombero that had arrived in town, the attack of the whist, the suicide, and their imminent homelessness, along with poor Garrett being trapped in the orphanage where he clearly wasn't happy, all of them were playing on his mind as the lift dinged. He sighed in annoyance, this caring about other people thing was nice and all, and he loved being part of the pack, but caring about other people, it was exhausting. Damn stupid Alpha being so nice and sweet and cool with everyone.

He entered the flat, but something immediately caught his nose as he did so. Usually, it had been the smell of sex coming from Ethan's room, but no, this was different, besides, Ethan and Danny were apart at the moment, so it couldn't be that. Despite his best efforts to the contrary, when Ethan fell for someone, he generally stayed with that one person, no matter how lousy he felt.

Aiden let out a low growl as he threw down his backpack and helmet, the hairs on his arms copying what his spiked up hair was doing and standing on end. There was something not right in here, and he didn't like it one bit. Taking a sniff, he could pick up on his brother's scent in the living room, but there was another scent, a sort of cloying scent that threatened to override the smell of his brother. Aiden growled, his eyes glowing blue as his claws grew, something was clearly not right here, that scent, it smelled of death, but there was something vaguely familiar mixed in with the smell, something that he couldn't quite place and it was bugging him immensely.

But the lack of any noise, of any sign of recognition from Ethan, that was what was really troubling him. Usually when he entered, his brother would, unless he was otherwise engaged with Danny, stick his head around the door at the very least to check it was Aiden, and then scrutinise his chest for any signs that his wound was bothering him. But today, nothing, and that, more than anything else, confirmed it for Aiden.

There was someone, or something, more in the flat than his twin, and that meant that his baby brother was in danger, so whoever or whatever it was, was about to learn the hard way that you did not mess with werewolf twins.

He edged further into the apartment, the scent really annoying him as he couldn't quite place it, and as the scent got stronger, he entered the living room, his eyes bulging in fury as he saw his brother.

Ethan was tied to a chair, a gag in his mouth to stop him from alerting his twin, his hands and legs tied behind him so he couldn't even use his claws, and by the looks of it, there was a little bit of blood on his orange hoody, which made Aiden snarl furiously, someone had attacked and hurt his brother, and pacifist Alpha or not, he was going to make them pay for doing that to his baby brother. Ever since their first pack had been ripped apart by that foul woman, he had always sworn to protect Ethan, and now someone had hurt him, and he vowed that whoever it was would learn the hard way that you did not hurt his little brother.

Ethan looked up at him in relief, practically screaming at his twin to help him, however as he moved towards Ethan, Ethan's eyes bulged and he looked in alarm at Aiden, which his twin took as a signal that he was in danger. Wasting no time, Aiden dived to the floor, just as the curtain pole that had been used on Ethan swung around to where his head had been a second before. Growling in annoyance at nearly being ambushed, Aiden twirled around and flipped back to his feet, although he hesitated when he saw who had just attacked him and was clearly responsible for the attack on his brother.

"What's the matter Aiden, don't like it when your victims fight back?" Erica snarled, her claws growing as she reading the curtain pole to attack again.

"Erica, seriously?" Aiden demanded as Erica gave a furious roar, her eyes glowing gold as she pounced at the other wolf, but Aiden was already on the move, moving to take the pole from her hand, his claws digging into her hand and making her give a screech of pain, sending the pole clattering to the floor.

Unbothered, Erica sprang at him, her claws going right of his jugular, but as he had learned when they had first helped Deucalion catch her, she was no great shakes at fighting, Boyd had been a pain in the ass to put down, but she had fallen without much trouble. Snarling in frustration, he caught her attack as she tried to rip his neck open, seizing her arm sand twisting around before slamming her to the ground. Erica snarled, but before he could end her, she lashed out, her claws ripping into his jeans and his shins, making him give out a cry of pain that dropped him to the floor, allowing her to regain the initiative, clambering to her feet and springing onto him, her claws puncturing deep into his chest. Aiden roared as she ripped her claws down his chest, blood blossoming all over his tshirt, and he could hear Ethan making panicked noises behind his gag, wanting to help his brother, struggling to get free, but to no avail. Giving an insidious snarl, Aiden slashed up at Erica's face, making her cry out in pain as blood splattered him, forcing the other wolf from him, allowing him to get back to his feet.

"Alright, I don't know how you're back, since Kali always made sure her kills were really dead...well, the Darach aside. But either way," he promised darkly, "I'll be thrilled to send you back to whatever hole you crawled out of!"

"You can try!" Erica goaded, her blond hair a flash of light as she went right for his stomach, her claws ripping into his gut, but he had the advantage, bending backwards to lessen the blow as he plunged his claws deep down into her back.

Erica gave a scream before sinking her fangs into Aiden's ankle, Aiden roaring in fury as she did so, allowing the other wolf to get back to her feet, but rather than go for another attack on Aiden, she made a beeline right for a captive and struggling Ethan, her claws going right for his jugular. Seeing this, Aiden gave an intense roar, clearing the room in a massive bound, slamming down onto her with all his might, sending the attacking beta tumbling away just before her claws slit his brother's neck. Growling like an animal, Erica rolled onto all fours, gnashing her teeth as Aiden moved towards her, his claws coming down to rip her head off, he didn't care who she used to be, she was dead, and besides, she had never been part of Scott's pack, so he didn't owe her anything. Erica rolled out of the way of his attack, her legs kicking him in the back of the knee, dropping him to one knee, allowing her to plunge her claws into his side, but it was a mistake she regretted as he lashed out, ripping her arm to shreds with a slash of his own, making her reel back in pain before kicking out with her legs, knocking him onto his back, giving her the opportunity she needed, her razor claws going right for Ethan, who was still struggling to free himself.

Roaring in challenge, Aiden pounced on her, tackling her in the legs, but he was a millisecond too late, her claws ripping down into Ethan's neck, spraying Aiden with his twins blood. As Ethan gave a smothered cry of pain and Erica crashed to the ground, Aiden pulled himself to his feet determined to end her before she hurt his brother again.

Running to the wall and springing off it, he slammed down onto her, his claws ripping to her shoulders, the female beta giving a snarl of pain as he did so. Bringing her leg up she kicked him in the stomach, but twisting with the attack, Aiden grabbed her by the leg and furiously threw her over the room, getting her away from Ethan. Crashing through the table they kept their homework stuff on, Erica gave a vicious snarl of annoyance, flipping back to her feet before realising that Aiden was on her again, his claws ripping a scar into her face and sending some of her golden hair to the floor. Lashing out she caught him in the mouth, but vicious to the end, Aiden sunk his teeth into her fist as she punched him, making his opponent howl in fury as he bit as far and as hard as he could. Savaging her hand, Aiden propelled himself into her stomach, flipping her up and over his shoulder, crashing her to the ground with a thud, and roaring in challenge he turned, stabbing his claws into her stomach. Howling, Erica reached up and grabbed Aiden's face, wrenching his head as if to try and break his neck, her claws sticking into his face as she did so, but letting out a slight growl of annoyance, he let himself move with the flow, his body dropping onto her, claws sticking into her leg. Flipping to his feet he barely managed to avoid a swipe from her as she backed away from him, ready for the next round.

Aiden gave another roar of challenge, making a beeline right for her, but she dodged out of the way, her claws moving to stab him in the back, but using his momentum, he ran up the wall, flipping himself over and landing catlike behind her, his claws cutting into the backs of her legs, making her squeal in surprise. As she staggered, he swept his claws up, ripping her back and her clothes to shreds as he battled her away from his brother, and as she staggered around to face him, his claws ripped across her face, making her scream in pain. Sensing her weakness, he was on her like a rash, his claws ripping every little part of her he could reach, before giving her a backhand to the face with one hand, puncturing her side with the other set of claws, and then doing the process in reverse, Erica howling and roaring in pain as he did it. Determined to end it, he sprang onto her, his feet crashing into her chest, while he swiped upwards with his claws, knocking her backwards towards the window. Erica gave a feeble few swipes, but Aiden easily dodged them before plunging his claws into her stomach, and with a last vicious roar, he heaved her into the air with all his might and threw her screaming body from the window.

Watching as she fell with satisfaction, he watched her crash into the ground, the sidewalk cracking with the impact of the fall, and he snarled in annoyance, confident that even a werewolf couldn't survive that. But then, to his great surprise, she glared up at him, her golden eyes burning and with a mocking wave, she ran off, leaving the shattered sidewalk behind her.

"What the hell..." he complained, that was impossible, even a werewolf couldn't fall twelve stories and just get up and walk away.

Figuring he had other things to worry about, he decided he would deal with her later and rushed to Ethan's side, panic gripping him, but as his brother glared at him in annoyance, he figured that despite the wound he had suffered, he was mostly fine. Undoing the cable that she had wrapped around his arms and legs, his brother swayed a little as he got to his feet, Aiden catching him before he fell, and Ethan cast aside his gag and glowered at Aiden.

"Took you long enough." He complained without heat, and Aiden allowed himself a grin before he hugged Ethan to him, just relieved he was alive.

"You ok?" he asked, peeling back Ethan's stained hoody to see that her claws had cut deep into his shoulder, just below the neck, but had missed anything too serious, which made him let out a silent sigh in relief, nuzzling his twin a little as he did so.

"Yeah, my head hurts more than that, damn that curtain pole is heavy." He complained, and Aiden grinned, peering at Ethan's head, wincing as he saw the bloody, bruised lump there.

"So I see. That was Erica right?" he asked darkly, and Ethan nodded, turning to face his twin.

"Yeah, it was. But how? Kali killed her, and even though we said we would never talk about this, in case Isaac overheard and killed us, we hauled her corpse into that storage room, she was dead, she didn't walk out of there, Derek carried her out! She's dead, so how the hell is she walking around, knocking me out with a curtain pole?" he demanded angrily, and Aiden beckoned him over to the window, showing him the destroyed sidewalk, which now had the landlady of the building looking at it curiously.

"And more to the point, how the hell did she get up and walk away after being thrown out of a window twelve stories up?" he asked grimly, and Ethan looked at him in shock, his face clouded as he gingerly rubbed the back of his head.

"A werewolf couldn't have survived that, after all, we kind of dropped one off a building a few floors smaller than this one and they didn't survive either." He recounted, and Aiden shot him a vexed look.

"Actually, you dropped him, you're the one who decided we had an itch. But that doesn't matter, a werewolf couldn't have survived a fall like that, especially a normal beta, I doubt Scott could survive that, Derek fell two floors when we fought them in the mall, and it nearly finished him and Ennis. She's not a werewolf." He told his twin darkly.

"So what the hell are we dealing with now?" Ethan asked worriedly, and Aiden shot a suspicious look at the shattered sidewalk as the old landlady waved cheerily up at them, before realising they were waving to her out of a shattered window, which only made her roll her eyes.

"Good question baby brother. Good question." He replied darkly as the landlady headed indoors, and Ethan sighed, figuring that question could wait until they dealt with their more immediate crisis: how the hell they were going to explain all this to their dear old landlady.

**Is that the last of them, or are there more dead still out there? Apologies for the lateness, but Lydia and Jennifer took me a while, I just couldnt get them right. **

**So, the question is, what are these things? As Jennifer and Erica showed, they clearly still have their powers, and whoever conjured them (three guesses who) clearly doesnt care what powers they retain, just that they do what they wanted. But just what is the point in all this? Why bring them all back at all?**

**Does anyone know if Prada is a boy or a girl doggy? Considering the name, I reckon its a girl, but I'm sure Lydia said he was a boy once (bet he gets laughed at by the other doggies if he is a boy)**

**But the main question is of course, to do with Stiles. Has the nogitusne truly gone? Are they just leftovers, or has something truly dark and evil remained as part of Stiles? And does he really want to die? What is going on in the boy's head, that is the question?**

**Anyway, until next time which hopefully wont be as long, in which shall feature badass pissed off McCalls, shirtless Jackson and other events, you know what to do, please favourite, follow and review, and let me know your thoughts on whats going on with these things that have been conjured and have been causing havoc for the pack!**


	15. Episode 3: Revenant Part 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf**

Two-Pack II

"That isn't what I'm saying Melissa dear." Allegra said in vexation as she helped her daughter lift the shopping out of the trunk, her ill gotten gains the first thing she picked out of the trunk, earning her a dirty look from Melissa as she did it.

"Well what are you saying then?" she asked, cursing as she chased the peaches back into the bag that they had escaped from.

"Just that it might be safer, and also less expensive, to cut your losses darling." She said gently, and Melissa shook her head.

"Mom, no, before you found out the supernatural exists would you have advocated us moving down to San Francisco with you? I get that you want to protect us, do you think I like the kids trying to get themselves killed every night? We've lost Allison, we damn near lost Stiles, Aiden and Isaac and that's on top of all the other ones that the kids haven't been daft enough to tell me about. Beacon Hills is dangerous yes, but...much as I hate it, Scott's now one of the things that means normal people aren't affected by the supernatural as much. Besides, I have a horrible feeling that even if we did leave town, the problems would only follow Scott, since he's a true Alpha. And you always taught both me and Scott to stand up for ourselves, to stand our ground, how would that look if we upped and abandoned town simply because of the side order of supernatural crap?" Melissa pointed out, and Allegra had to admit, that was a good argument if nothing else.

"I suppose you're right. And, before you go there I know the house, but still..." she sighed, and Melissa nodded.

"I know mom, but if you reckon we can salvage it, then we'll be fine...I hope." She said awkwardly, and Allegra nodded, though she did look slightly put out.

"I know, but still, it's a thought, if it gets a bit too much around here, you're more than welcome to come for a visit. Besides, it's been a while since you two had a break, and Isaac is more than welcome to come along as well of course." She said fondly, and Melissa smiled, amused at the thought.

"Yeah, like Scott would leave him behind even if you wanted him to, honestly, when it was only Stiles I had to worry about him not wanting to go anywhere without I could cope, but now it's an entire pack's worth of them." She complained, and Allegra smirked.

"And you used to complain he had so few friends, for shame darling. Oh, and if you came to visit, well, you'd be welcome to bring the good sheriff...and his rather attractive young deputy if you so desired." She said musingly, looking wistfully into space and Melissa swatted her mother on the arm.

"Mother!" she chided and Allegra shot her an amused look.

"Hey, this town has always attracted gorgeous guys, why should I miss out simply because I live in the city?" she asked innocently, and Melissa laughed as she heaved the last bag out of the car.

"Well me coming with John would let the cat out of the bag, and we're not ready for our actual kids to know yet, and besides, I agree with Isaac, I want to see how long it'll take Scott to notice without us telling him." She said with a grin, and Allegra laughed.

"Darling, you'd need to be walking down the aisle before he twigged. I love the boy to bits, but honestly, sloths are quicker on the uptake than he is." She lamented, as she chanced a look at the door, and suddenly stopped, her face going clouded.

Melissa, who had been about to ask her if she had had any luck talking to the boys, noticed her mother's preoccupation and looked at her curiously.

"Mom, what is it?" she asked, noticing her mother tense.

"The front door is open, look." She said worriedly, and slightly worried herself now, Melissa followed her gaze, seeing that her door was indeed ajar.

It was a mark of how used she was to supernatural occurrences that her first thought wasn't that someone might have robbed the house, besides, they had very little worth stealing, particularly if an intrepid burglar had noticed their car had seen better days. But Isaac was in, and surely any normal robber would be scared off by a rather annoyed werewolf, even if he was a teenager. But ever since the whist had attacked her mother, she had been expecting some other creature to come along, and now, she had a feeling that there was something else in her house that shouldn't be. She exchanged a dark look with her mother, and figuring discretion was better than valour, she took her baseball bat out of the trunk as her mother drew her gun, both of them advancing towards the house, fearful of whatever fresh hell they might find.

"We'll look a right pair of dickie doo daas if Isaac just didn't close it properly." Allegra whispered as Melissa readied her bat, straining her ears, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction but she was sure she could hear something that sounded an awful lot like screaming.

"He wouldn't, he knows if he did, I'd tell him off and so would Scott. No, I think we can rule out purposely not closing it, true it could be an accident but the damn whist somehow got in, and we have no idea how it did that, why not something else? Now hush, I think I hear something." She hissed, and Allegra went quiet, turning her better ear towards the house as they advanced, and as they got closer, Melissa was sure she heard it, the sounds of someone whimpering, begging, crying, screaming and her eyes flashed in fury, and a few paces more, Allegra's did as well.

It was Isaac they were hearing, he was screaming, panicking, and blistering, red hot fury flooded her as she heard it, that was one of her kids in there, one of her kids was being hurt, tortured by the sounds of it, and all she wanted to do now was rip apart whoever it was who was doing it to him. She readied her bat, beckoning to her equally furious mother, who readied her gun, about to barge into the house when a roaring came from up the street. Turning to see the source of commotion, they saw a white and green streak come to a stop at the bottom of the drive with her son leaping from the bike before it had even really come to a complete stop. Throwing his helmet off, both women then saw her son for what he really was: an incredibly powerful force of nature, who had realised that the person he loved was in danger. His fangs were extended, his eyes glowing deadly crimson, his claws already fully extended, and a look of such fury was on his face that Melissa was sure she had never seen her son this angry before. With a savage roar, Scott bounded up the path and slammed into the door, bursting it back against the wall and the two women followed his lead as Scott stood in the doorway, seething angrily, snarling viciously as he sent a deadly glare at the person in the house who shouldn't be.

Entering and flanking Scott, Melissa's eyes widened in shock, quickly followed by revulsion as she realised just who it was who she was seeing, she had seen the bastard around the hospital enough to know who he was, even though she had never made the connection before it was too late and Isaac came into her and Scott's life.

It was Isaac's father.

He was standing looking at them, his face coloured with disgust, his hateful eyes narrowed at them as he faced the full wrath of the McCall family as he leaned against the unit that he had put against the door to the cupboard under the stairs, from which they could hear Isaac's frightened and panicked cries coming from inside.

"Put your hands in the air and move away from the unit!" Allegra spat, shocked that anyone could lock someone in a cupboard and still manage to ignore all the noise a frantic Isaac was making, watching Scott with half an eye because it was clear that Scott was preparing to pounce.

"Mom, shoot him!" Melissa barked angrily, and Allegra shook her head.

"I'm not going to shoot him Melissa!"

"Grandma, he's already dead, murder the bastard!" Scott roared furiously, saliva coming from his mouth and Mr Lahey looked at them, supremely unconcerned.

"So you took in the waste of space that's my son? Why bother, he's worthless, pathetic, and I take it you're the little queer that convinced him someone actually loves him?" he growled darkly, taking pleasure in taunting them and Allegra snarled angrily, moving in front of her grandson and her daughter, both of whom seemed willing to be let off their leashes and rip the man into shreds.

"I told you, move away and get your hands in the air, and considering you're outnumbered and outgunned, keep your mouth shut!" she commanded furiously, and Melissa shook her head urgently, wanting to smash his skull in with her bat.

"Mom, he's already dead, Jackson killed him last year, he's a zombie, shoot him!" she bellowed and Allegra briefly turned to look at her in shock, zombie dogs was one thing, but zombie people were another matter entirely, but Mr Lahey then drew her attention back to him with a snort.

"Seriously, all this for him? He's pathetic, worthless, and he likes boys, he couldn't wait till he got me killed so he could indulge himself in all your stupid little fads, I treated him right, this is for his own good you know, he needs to be punished! I'm only doing it because he won't turn out right if I don't!" he yelled at them and Melissa narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"Actually, that kid turned out alright despite everything you did to him you foul, selfish, hateful, twisted old man! Get away from that unit and let him out!" she screamed, raising her bat to threaten him, and he laughed.

"Not until he's learned his lesson." He retorted smugly, Melissa's heart breaking as she heard Isaac whimpering behind the door.

"Move. Now." Scott ordered, his eyes flashing red and Lahey scoffed at him.

"Why don't you make me you little shit? You need to learn respect, maybe I should make you watch as I punish Isaac, you hear that you worthless piece of crap? Your little boyfriend actually wants me to punish you, maybe I should find a nice big freezer so he can watch, maybe give himself a treat as he sees his worthless so called boyfriend treated like the piece of shit he is!" he roared, and Isaac let out a high pitched cry, and that broke any hope of doing this nicely, as Melissa was suddenly consumed with such an all consuming rage as she had never felt, hearing Isaac cry and sob in such pain and fear, she lost it totally.

"Mom, if you won't shoot the bastard...Scott, sic him!" she screeched, but she was already too late as her mother, rage billowing off of her , opened fire, bullets lancing into Lahey who grunted in pain as they impacted.

To her great surprise, she had also moved, her bat swinging right into Lahey's skull, knocking the foul, loathsome man off his feet and slamming him to the ground, shattering his glasses into his face as her mother's gun went off again, bullets puncturing into his body as he fell as she fired from behind her. Consumed by rage, Melissa and Allegra moved into the room, Melissa crashing the bat down into Lahey's knees, making the man scream in pain as she brought back the bat to finish the bastard.

And then to her everlasting shock, he got back to his feet, seized the bat with a furious snarl, and swung it at her, forcing her to dive to the floor to avoid it, and he then swung the bat at Allegra who shrieked and moved back, her gun emptying into him but the bullets did nothing to stop him as the hateful zombie bore down on them.

"Scott!" Melissa cried, as there was suddenly a sound of great scraping as the unit blocking Isaac in was removed and a deafening roar filled the house as the cupboard door shattered around Scott's fist, revealing a screaming Isaac and the furious Alpha, now finished freeing his boyfriend, gave a savage roar and sprang up the corridor, his lethal claws ripping into Lahey before he could further harm someone he loved.

Lahey roared in pain as the Alpha slashed into him, Scott all rage as he pummelled the man who had destroyed Isaac so much over the course of his life. Frightened by her son's display, and quite eager to vacate the room, she scrambled out of the kitchen with her mother, wrapping Isaac, who had fallen out of the cupboard and was curled up into a ball, screaming and crying, protecting his body as much as he could, in her arms, rocking him and trying to soothe him while Allegra picked up her gun, got another cartridge ready and knelt, poised, ready to shoot Lahey again if the chance presented itself while she rubbed Isaac's back as he wrapped his arms around his head to try and protect himself from any further attack from his father.

Scott was the angriest Melissa had ever seen him, in fact it seemed he was so angry that there was a shimmering field of heat rippling around him, his anger burning so hot it was warping the air around him. His eyes were burning red, his fangs dripping, his claws and hands were covered in Lahey's blood, and he was moving like lightning, punching, kicking, biting, clawing, anything he could do he was doing it to the man who had destroyed Isaac's life while Isaac continued to scream and cry behind him, the sound rending Scott's heart in two, and he was determined he would never let this man, alive or dead, ever hurt Isaac in such a way again.

With a defiant roar Scott allowed the decimated body of Mr Lahey to topple back, the man drowning in his own fake blood, glowering up at Scott hatefully.

"He'll ruin your life, just like he did mine." He spat at Scott, and Scott snarled, the room quaking as if in fear at the sound Melissa hadn't even knew her son could make, and Scott grabbed Lahey's neck, his fangs filling his mouth, his red eyes burning.

"No, you ruined his. But, alive or dead, you are never touching Isaac again." Scott promised, sounding as if his mouth was filled with fangs to the extent that it was difficult for him to talk properly, and with that Scott raised Lahey into the air, the man screaming in pain and impotent rage, shouting incoherently about Isaac, and Melissa and Allegra watched in transfixed horror as Scott gave a final savage roar and ripped Lahey's screaming body apart, the zombie toppling to the ground, the flesh vanishing as the shattered skeleton sprinkled to the ground, and Scott furiously crushed the skull between his claws, shattering it into dust, breathing heavily as he tried to calm down, which would be a lot easier if Isaac wasn't still screaming and crying behind him.

"Isaac, calm down honey, come on, calm down, he's gone." Melissa insisted, trying to calm him down but he only screamed in fright as she tried to pry his arms from being wrapped around, curling tighter into himself as if to protect himself from any possible attack.

Scott, still seething and breathing heavily, turned his still red eyes onto Melissa and Allegra as they tried to calm Isaac down, and Allegra gave him a wary look but he simply crossed to them and sank down in front of Isaac, taking his face in his hands.

"Isaac, he's gone, he isn't coming back, you need to calm down honey!" he pleaded but Isaac merely tried to back away, crying and panicking, Scott wincing as his claws ripped into his hands since he was so agitated.

"Scott, he isn't calming down." Allegra told him worriedly, narrowly avoiding it as Isaac let out a half hearted panicked growl and clawed out the way, clearly aiming for the direction of the voice.

"Sweetheart we aren't going to hurt you, you need to relax sweetie." Melissa begged, though she had a feeling that wasn't going to happen without her help, and her face clouded over as she considered it.

"No, I'm sorry, leave me alone, I won't do it again!" Isaac cried, the very sound of how scared and anxious he sounded as he begged breaking all three of their hearts.

"Isaac, he's gone, you're safe, it's us!" Scott insisted, but it was clear that despite now being free of the cupboard, he was still convinced that he was under attack, that his father was there and out to hurt him.

"No...no...leave me alone, I know I'm worthless..." Isaac sobbed into his knees as he cried, and Scott snarled again, while Allegra shot a filthy look at the skeleton in the next room, bastard deserved the same thing happening all over again before she looked at Scott pleadingly.

"Can't you do an Alpha thing to calm him down, or a boyfriend thing?" she asked desperately, because it was breaking her heart to see him like this, and Scott bit his lip.

"I don't know, I could Alpha him, but that involves roaring and asserting my dominance, I don't think that would help calm him down, it'll probably just make him worse, and he won't let me get close enough to do any of the other stuff." He complained as Isaac seemed to try to back away from him again.

"Scott, I have an idea, but you won't like it, and I'll need you to hold him down." Melissa said worriedly as Allegra reached a hand out towards Isaac, making him cry out in fear again, and Scott sighed and nodded, looking miserably at his boyfriend.

"Do it, I can't stand hearing this anymore, I can't stand him sounding so upset." Scott pleaded, sounding close to tears himself, and Allegra looked at him curiously, how could someone who sounded so upset just by seeing someone he loved be so upset be the same person who just made a zombie disintegrate with his bare hands, well, in his case, claws.

Melissa nodded as Isaac continued to cry and mutter, and Scott tried to hold him, tried to bring him close, but the psychological torture his blasted father had put him through had driven him too far, and now even he, the one he loved, couldn't get through to him, and it was killing him, to hear Isaac so pained, so upset, so frightened, he needed to fix Isaac but he had no idea how to do it.

Melissa then reappeared, and to Scott's horror, she had a syringe in her hand.

"Are you crazy, you want to drug him?" he demanded angrily, and she looked irritably at him.

"Scott, look at the state of him, he's not calming down, in fact his screaming and crying is getting worse if anything, and none of us are getting through to him. So unless you want to Alpha him, which will probably only make him worse, this is kind of our only choice!" she insisted, and hating himself, he nodded slowly, admitting that she was right.

For what it was worth, it looked as though Melissa hated herself as well. She sent Scott a significant glance, and looking faintly sick, he wrapped his arms around a struggling Isaac, nuzzling into his ear in a last desperate attempt to calm him, but Isaac only cried louder, trying to get away from Scott, panicking and struggling, screaming as if he was still being tortured by his father. Scott sent his queasy looking mother a helpless look, and she nodded, and detesting himself, Scott continued to nuzzle Isaac, trying not to feel hurt as he tried to pull away, Isaac crying as he did so, and as he thrashed, he wrapped his arms tightly around his boyfriend, nuzzling him protectively as Isaac panicked, and took a hold of Isaac's neck, holding his head still, which only made Isaac scream more but Melissa acted, the syringe slipping easily into his flesh, and looking revolted with herself, she pushed the drugs into his struggling, panicking body. Isaac stopped struggling, his frightened, panicked gaze focusing on Melissa, making a little moan in his voice but he then leaned back against Scott, his eyes fluttering closed and he finally went silent. Scott held him as he went silent in his arms, hating what they had had to do, but feeling relieved that he had stopped screaming, the sounds he was making were ripping his heart into pieces.

He held Isaac gently, rocking him a little and stroking Isaac's hair, kissing the top of his head as his mother looked at what she had done in distaste. Allegra breathed a sigh of relief as she patted Scott's shoulder, and Scott gulped, and tenderly lifted the now unconscious Isaac into his arms, heading for the stairs.

"I've never seen him like that before mom." Melissa admitted quietly, hating herself, and Allegra nodded, looking grim.

"What the hell did that bastard do to him to make him so frightened?" she demanded, her eyes burning with cold fire, and Melissa started, jerked out of her thoughts.

"He abused him for years, he even locked him in the freezer. He would attack him, belittle him, it's why Isaac became a werewolf, so he could defend himself he destroyed his life so much." She said, her eyes focused on where her son had silently vanished, hating herself for what she had had to do to Isaac in order to calm him down.

She then felt her mother patting her on the back, her eyes shrewd as she beheld her daughter.

"You were talking about Scott weren't you?" she asked softly, and Melissa nodded.

"I know he's a werewolf, but...this was the first time that I thought of him as anything close to a monster. I mean, don't get me wrong, the bastard was already dead, and he deserved what Scott did to him, but...seeing him like that, it was scary." She whispered, and Allegra nodded wisely.

"I agree dear, but in addition...he just proved how far he's willing to go in order to protect someone he loves. So, while rather...alarming in some ways, in some ways, it's also quite reassuring." She whispered, and Melissa looked thoughtful as she considered what her mother had said, but the image of her son, riled into a murderous rage like that, well, yes she could see why her mother was reassured, but she was also suddenly very scared of her son and what he could do.

Upstairs, Scott looked worriedly at Isaac as his boyfriend, now in a drug induced sleep. He knew his mom was right, and that despite everything they were trying, everything he was trying, Isaac was just not calming down. But as he stroked Isaac's bare chest tenderly with one hand, and stroked his hair with the other, the very fact that they had had to sedate him in order to calm him down, that broke Scott's heart. His father was dead, buried, gone, and without him, Isaac had finally been able to enjoy his life, to make friends, a family, to fall in love, to be himself. But with one afternoon, with his father somehow coming back from the grave and tormenting him all over again, there was no telling what damage the vile bastard had done to him.

But...was he any better? He had always wondered just how far he would go, just how much of a monster he could become. True, Mr Lahey was already dead, and was probably one of the few people in the world who Scott would willingly kill because of everything he had done to Isaac, but that didn't excuse what he had done to him, well, to it. It wasn't really him, but that didn't make him feel any better. He had been brutal, vicious, savage in what he did to him. And all the time he had been doing it, he hadn't felt a flicker of remorse, he had wanted to cause Lahey that pain, he had wanted him to suffer, to feel pain, to pay for what he had done to Isaac, but as soon as he had done it, he had immediately regretted it. Did that make him as much of a monster as Peter was? Or Deucalion? Did they ever feel remorse?

The power he had felt, the sheer energy, the desire to rip, maim, kill, it had been so overwhelming. When his mom had moved to drug Isaac, part of him had wanted to do the same to her, to rip her throat out for threatening him. That wasn't even logical, his mother was one of the people he loved most in the world, and he had been driven to want to hurt her.

Scott looked at Isaac's unconscious form, wanting nothing more than to cuddle into him and pretend none of this had ever happened. But he couldn't. Someone had brought Lahey back, and had set him on Isaac. Someone had wanted to hurt him. And he needed to know who, and why.

And...he also wanted to talk to Jackson, and the twins, because now that he knew what he was capable of, it terrified him, and he really wanted their advice on all this. If he was a monster, if he was going to become like Peter or the other foul things they had fought, he wanted to be ready, to stop it before it happened. He would rather die than become a savage monster like that. He wouldn't become a monster, not if he could help it.

Rubbing himself, he shivered, scared of who and what he was, for the first time since he had become a werewolf. He had just proven how monstrous he could be, and it scared the living daylights out of him. He never wanted to feel like that again, especially when someone else could get hurt, someone he loved. But...what if he had no control over it?

Mulling this over, he looked at Isaac's shirtless, unconscious form, and kissed him gently on the forehead.

"He can't hurt you anymore, he's gone, and this time, he won't be coming back. And if he does...I'll destroy him all over again." He vowed truthfully, his voice a low growl, which made him stand up in shock at hearing himself speak like that.

But he found that he really meant it, he would happily do to Lahey what he had done all over again if it meant keeping Isaac safe. Did that make him good, or bad?

Heading down the stairs, his mind whirring with debates about how much of a monster he was, he saw his mother and grandmother trying to fix some of the damage, and he wilted a little, Isaac would be even more upset about that and blame himself for all this mess when it was really Lahey to blame.

No, not Lahey.

Whoever had sent him here.

"Mom?" Scott asked, his voice strong but to his greater relief, normal.

"Yeah?" she asked, not quite meeting his eyes, and he felt that like a fist to the gut, even if he couldn't blame her, after all, for the first time, she had seen that she was now the mother of a monster.

"I'm going to bring all the others over here. Someone, or something, is in town, and it's after all of us. And considering what Lahey did to Isaac...no more." He vowed, and she looked at him curiously, though with a slight tinge of foreboding.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, and Allegra looked at him in interest as well as his eyes glowed red, his fist clenching.

"I'm going to get answers...one way or another."

XX

Upon their arrival the other members of the pack had quickly discovered that all was not well in the McCall house. Quickly going about helping with the clean up, the more attuned members of the pack could tell that Scott was not in a very good mood, and all of them, even though they were bursting with information to tell him, kept quiet until they had at least cleared a space for Stiles to erect his clear crime board up in the living room, still wincing a little as he moved. Allegra looked at the boy she had always viewed as another grandson, and frowned. She still hadn't really talked to either of the boys, the existence of the supernatural and other associated events had driven it almost totally from her mind. But she was going home tomorrow, so she really needed to talk to both kids, correction, all three considering the mess poor Isaac was in, before she left.

It was as she stared musingly at Stiles that her eyes travelled to the crime board he was erecting, giving him a suspicious look. Hearing the door, and deciding to interrogate him on that later, she headed past the twins, who were looking at Scott in the kitchen worriedly as she opened the door.

She was then nearly flattened as two young, strong, angry werewolves virtually pounced on the man at the front door, leaving her feeling rather squashed, as Scott had appeared and was pulling both angry twins back from his boss.

"Heel!" Scott snapped irritably, and while both twins gave a mutinous growl, they both nodded, glared at the man then stomped through to the living room.

"This will be a pleasant evening." Deaton sighed as he entered the house, followed by his sister.

"I'm beginning to see why you wanted me here." Morrell said wryly, and Scott gave her a humourless smile.

"Basically, if Deaton tells us the truth I need you to back him up, since most of my pack want his head on a spike. Grandma, this is our guidance teacher, and the twins' old emissary Ms Morrell." Scott said as his grandmother uncrushed herself from the wall, throwing a dirty look through the wall at the twins.

"Nice to meet you. Seriously Scott, you ordered five pizzas?" she demanded weakly as she watched the delivery man teeter out of his car with a large stack of pizzas, suddenly regretting her generous offer to pay for them, and he looked at her sheepishly.

"Actually, I ordered seven. We're growing werewolves! Don't worry, your ham and pineapple one comes free, and so do the two bottles of juice!" he said brightly, and she rolled her eyes in amusement, at least he'd gotten her a bargain.

"Where's Isaac, how come he gets excused from the cleanup crew?" Jackson asked, for a change not malicious, but with his mood and his instincts related to Isaac already fried, Scott let out a savage growl in his ear, making Jackson leap up in fright.

"He's in bed because he was in such a state that mom had to sedate him to get him to calm down, that's why he's not down here." He replied sharply as Melissa and Allegra came through with plates, cups and pizza boxes as they all settled around the room.

Jackson sank back into his seat, looking cowed, and Scott found he was too hacked off and scared to care. Danny swatted at Jackson gently as Melissa took a deep breath, set the plates on the table, then immediately leapt out of the way as several hungry teenage hands reached for the pizza boxes.

"God, it's like feeding a tank of piranhas." Allegra commented weakly as Ethan lost a fight with Aiden for the slice with more pepperoni on it.

With the pack now happily munching on pizza, Scott rapping Stiles knuckles with the tv remote when he tried to take the slices he was setting aside for Isaac, he then looked at his pack, addressing the undercurrent of fear that was running through it.

"Ok what did I miss?" he asked, and with that the entire pack started clamouring, the adults watching the proceedings carefully, seeing how they all instantly went quiet when Scott held up a hand, how they all looked at him with respect, albeit with Jackson scowling mutinously, and Scott pointed at Malia, who looked most miserable.

"My mom attacked me." She said sadly, and Stiles pulled her to him a little more, hugging her to his side, and Scott looked at her in alarm.

"What?" he demanded weakly, and from there he got all the stories, Malia finishing her, then Lydia causing general all round alarm when she announced Jennifer had come back, then Jackson caused a stir with the news that the kanima master was back and had attacked Danny (Aiden had discreetly had to hold Ethan back from crossing to Danny and fussing over him), the twins had told them about Erica and the landlady's resignation to the window situation, and then Scott finally reached Stiles. He didn't have to say anything, the look on his face and the general recurring theme of the various stories, dead people coming back to bite them in the ass, made it all too clear who it was.

"It was Allison wasn't it? She came back." Scott said, knowing the answer already, and not meeting his eyes, Stiles nodded.

"Yeah. It was her. She wasn't in a good mood with me, seeing as I killed her and all." He whispered, and Scott squatted down in front of Stiles looking at him intently.

"It wasn't your fault, you hear me?" he intoned, and while Stiles nodded, he could tell his brother didn't believe that.

"Allison came back?" Lydia asked, sounding breathless, and Stiles nodded grimly.

"Yeah, she came back. It was her, just like she was before she died. But, she was like you said all the others were, she wanted me dead, like she was after her mom died, pure hunter. I mean I know it's my fault she's dead but I mean, well, it was like, part of her was missing." He mumbled as Malia held his hand, and she nodded her agreement.

"Mom wasn't right either, she was cruel, cold, not like she was. Does that mean she wasn't really her?" she asked hopefully, and Scott noticed the two druids exchanging significant glances, and immediately felt annoyed.

"Look, most of the people in this room wants at least one of you dead, so rather than standing there keeping quiet and being so mysterious, tell us what you're thinking, or I will let my murderous identical bodyguards rip you apart." Scott growled menacingly, and Melissa shot a frightened look at her son, he was still severely pissed off to be threatening Deaton, who paid his wages after all, in such a way.

Aiden looked worriedly at his Alpha. He could feel how tense Scott was, they all could, the stress was coming off him, as was the fear, and his anger at the druids wasn't doing anything to improve matters. But it was just so strange, seeing Scott so riled up. Finding out his entire pack had been attacked by dead people from the past had severely wound him up, and added to the fact that Isaac was in such a state he had had to be sedated, he could grasp that Scott was seriously annoyed with everything that had happened.

Deaton scowled, but beside him, his sister allowed herself a small smile of amusement. She had warned him that his dicking around with the pack would only wind up driving them to doing the one thing he had been trying very hard to prevent, but obviously he hadn't listened and was now reaping the consequences.

Deciding to ignore Scott's tone and put it down to the stress of his pack and boyfriend being attacked by people who were meant to be dead, Deaton began to explain.

"I think they were revenants, that would explain their behaviour, and their level of sentience." He explained, and Allegra, who was taking notes, looked at him curiously.

"How does that explain it?" she asked, and Morrell took over.

"The attacks weren't done by zombies, zombies are different. A zombie is little more than a beast, an animal in human form, no higher brain functions, no nothing, it exists solely to do the master's will. It's just a walking corpse, nothing going on. So yes Stiles, the zombies in Walking Dead are like real zombies." She said in exasperation, as he had looked to be fairly burning with the question.

"So what makes a revenant different then, because Matt was certainly walking and talking." Danny challenged, and she nodded.

"A revenant is a much higher class of zombie, and requires a lot more knowledge and power in order to pull off, and considering whoever was behind it also made Jennifer, who was a very powerful creature in her own right, into a revenant, then the master behind it all clearly isn't someone we want to tangle with in a hurry. A revenant is the level down from a total resurrection. Peter, when he came back, resurrected himself, which means he is back to what he was before Derek ripped his throat out. A revenant is something that was mostly resurrected, but is still technically dead. As such, because the person behind their resurrection left part of them behind, it lets them pick and choose what they bring back." She explained, Allegra's pen scribbling away.

"So how does that help us?" Jackson asked, feeling slightly lost.

"What's she's trying to say is, while those that attacked you were the people you knew from before, they weren't entirely those people. Whoever brought them back left parts of them behind. That explains why Allison was the way she was, the redeeming qualities that she had, her compassion, her care for others, her sense of right and wrong, all of them were left behind in order to make her a much more effective weapon. The same probably applies to the other revenants that attacked you as well." He explained, and Malia looked cheered slightly by this news.

"So, mom might not really have thought that stuff?" she asked, and Deaton nodded.

"Correct." He confirmed, but Aiden looked less than convinced.

"Yeah but doesn't that also mean that they did originally think those things?" he asked, and Malia sagged sadly, making Stiles glare at the twin, who shrugged.

"Well possibly, possibly not. Some of them, like Jennifer, Isaac's father, Matt, all of them, it wouldn't take much energy to twist them into something like a revenant, and the stuff that goes along with it." Deaton reasoned, and Scott shared a scowl with his mother.

"Yeah, as if any of them needed any help in being more foul. So, Jennifer's gone at least, so we don't need to deal with her anymore, but why did those people attack who they did?" he asked, and Deaton frowned as he considered the question.

"The people who were resurrected, they were all linked in some way to the people who they attacked. Isaac and his father are obvious, as is Matt and Jackson, and Malia's mother." He mused, but Stiles looked less than convinced.

"And me and Allison because of what happened, but that doesn't explain why the others were all attacked. Like the twins, why did Erica attack them?" he asked, and Morrell raised an eyebrow.

"They were still involved in her death, they were still part of the pack when she was killed, even if they didn't do the deed themselves. As long as there's a link, that's all whoever was behind this was needing, a link to the person they were directly attacking." She explained, and Lydia, who was looking worriedly out of the window and texting her mother to see if Prada had been seen, looked around.

"Then what's the deal between me and Jennifer, it's not as if I was the one who was in her way, it was Scott and Derek who screwed up her plans." She pointed out, which Scott nodded to.

"Yeah, and how come Allison...well didn't I have a link with her?" he asked, sounding slightly put out, and Stiles gave him a humourless smile.

"Hey, least you didn't get attacked by anyone." He pointed out, and Morrell nodded, conceding the point.

"The way these revenants were conjured, and their actions, make it look as though this was linked to those linked in some way to their deaths, or at least to the circumstances that helped lead to them. Whoever was behind this knows you, knows the pack, and this was some sort of psychological warfare. Understand, these revenants were never meant to be the be all and end all. I think that whatever has been going on is only just starting." She warned, and Ethan growled in frustration, getting to his feet and pacing irritably.

"But what is happening? The Pombero attacking Lydia, whists, which I assume come from the same place as the revenants came from, the flying thing that attacked Aiden, there's no way the suicide in the school wasn't related to everything going on, and the Scuffock showing up all at the same time, are you seriously telling me that all of this isn't somehow related?" he demanded, and Melissa sighed and patted her befuddled mother on the arm.

"And you missed Beacon Hills mom." She teased sweetly, making her mother give her a weak look.

"Alright, so how do we stop these revenants, because I say we go out and put them all back where they came from, what do you think Scott?" Aiden asked eagerly, as Scott hadn't said anything, but as the twin looked at his Alpha, he saw Scott looking at both twins as if they had just sprouted an extra head.

"Why Erica?" he asked, his tone one of forced calm, and the twins looked at each other in confusion before looking back at him.

"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, kind of at sea by the Alpha's question.

"Why were you two attacked by Erica, it doesn't make sense. Kali had more to do with her death than you two did right?" he asked suspiciously, and Ethan chanced a glance to see that Danny was listening intently for the answer but refusing to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, why?" h asked, and saw Danny look up at him out of the corner of his eye.

"So why were you attacked by Erica, when you were more linked to Boyd dying?" he asked, and Lydia looked at him, the picture of confusion.

"You're worried because they weren't attacked by Boyd?" she asked in disbelief, and Scott turned to her, looking agitated.

"Lydia, look at everyone who came back and attacked, and are still out there by the way, the only one we don't need to deal with it Jennifer and that's because Martagh dealt with her. Basically, everyone we have lost, everyone who died around us, so why the hell didn't Boyd come back?" he asked, and Stiles let out a low groan.

"Because if Boyd came back he wouldn't be pointed at the twins, he would be pointed at Derek, who is technically the one who killed him." He realised, and Scott swore under his breath and was already calling Parrish as the others looked on worriedly.

XX

Derek, being in solitary, had a different procedure from the rest of the prison. Boris, the oldest prison guard in the place, would pick him up from his cell and would march him along to the showers. Believing that Derek was innocent, as a result Boris was perfectly decent with him and gave him a little longer in the shower than he was meant to get. The only thing he wouldn't tell Derek was who the hell it was in the same wing as him, which at first Derek had dismissed as him just being a jobsworth, but now, after all this time it actually seemed like the older man actually didn't know who the other prisoner in the same wing was, which Derek actually found highly interesting.

"So you still don't have a clue on who my neighbour is?" Derek asked innocently as water ran over his body.

Hey, it might be a prison shower, but it was still quite a good one. Now, if he could get as good a shower in his building if he ever actually got out of here.

"I've told you lad, I've no idea. I'm actually beginning to think no one knows, even the warden seems rather clueless as to who it is, the FBI put him in here, whoever he is." He said gruffly as he read his paper, allowing Derek to go about his business.

"So someone high profile then?" Derek asked, washing his hair with the small bar of soap he was afforded.

Boris stroked his heavyset jaw as he considered the question.

"All any of us knows is that a month or so ago, the FBI requisitioned the cell until further notice, said the prisoner only had to be cared for, they would deal with everything, only basically asking us for room. The FBI has someone who comes in on their way home every day to check up on the guy at any rate." He informed him, and Derek frowned, yeah, that certainly didn't sound like normal practice.

"Why's it all so hush hush?" he asked, and Boris made a unconcerned noise in his throat.

"Who knows son? The FBI's prerogative isn't it? Whoever it is though, they insisted the room be in solitary, and with people at either end of the corridor, whom they provided. All very strange though, whoever the guy is, he's either a seriously nasty piece of work, or a very high profile witness or something like that." Boris summed up, and Derek tried to think, tried to put the information he was getting with what he knew, because he was positive that he had smelled that particular person in some way before.

Maybe he should ask Malia to come out next time he got visitors, her nose was better than anyone's.

"Hmm..." Boris grunted as Derek switched off the shower and grabbed his towel, wiping his face.

"What's up?" he asked, wrapping the towel around his waist as Boris got to his feet, pulling out his nightstick, his eyes drawn up the corridor.

"What the hell is that?" he demanded in frightened shock, club at the ready, and Derek looked up the corridor to see a pair of vicious golden eyes glowing in the dark, with deadly white fangs coming ever closer.

"Impossible..." Derek breathed as the other werewolf span out of the darkened corridor, his claws going right for Boris' throat.

Shoving Boris to the ground with a grunt, Derek barely managed to avoid it as Boyd's claws went right for his throat. Boyd gave a vicious snarl as he reared up to his full, considerable, bulky height, and Derek snarled in challenge, his own eyes going blue as he extended his claws, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Boris was out cold, which actually made things a lot easier. Derek backed away, suddenly very aware that all he was wearing over his wet body (which would also be potentially hazardous) was a towel, which meant that Boyd's claws would be none too desirable in certain places. Edging back, Derek looked at Boyd, feelings of guilt flooding him as he beheld his former Beta, the one who he had killed, the one who had met his end on his own claws.

"Boyd...what are you doing here?" Derek asked, well really, what was he supposed to say, he had buried Boyd himself, while Scott had held a crying Isaac and Cora had hovered sadly behind her big brother.

"Surprised to see me Derek? What, afraid to face what you did to me?" Boyd snarled, looking almost rabid he was so angry, and Derek shook his head.

"Of course not, I know what I did to you, and I hate myself every day that I did do it to you, I would never have killed you, you know that." He insisted, and Boyd scoffed.

"Really? See, it wasn't exactly a great leap of the imagination, you were never exactly a brilliant Alpha now were you? It was all about you, wasn't it? You didn't care about us, you didn't want to know what our problems were, you were all about helping yourself, about getting power." Boyd sneered, and while Derek did consider answering back, he figured that he would do himself more good if he just kept his mouth shut.

"What, nothing to say? Isaac, Erica and I, we turned to you because we thought you would make our lives better, and instead, all you did was get us killed! Erica died while you sat and felt sorry for yourself! I died because you were too weak, always were weak, all you cared about was you, not us! And I can hardly blame Isaac for turning on you, what did you ever do that inspired loyalty? You would sit back and let us fight Scott and the others, fight the kanima, while you sat back and did nothing, bitching about how Scott was better than you, you would sit and wallow in self pity while your pack, the people who needed you, died!" Boyd roared and leapt at Derek, his claws going right for his throat.

Derek barely avoided Boyd's claws, his words bothering much more than the attempt to kill him. He was right, he had been a failure as an Alpha. Erica had gotten killed because he had been stupid enough to let her go, he had managed to get Boyd back only to be the one to kill him because he was too weak to stop it, he had driven Isaac out of the pack and into Scott's waiting arms, and he hadn't exactly been a stellar older brother to Cora either, and had only saved her life after a lot of feeling sorry for himself.

"Boyd, I know I wasn't the best Alpha..." Derek began and Boyd scoffed.

"That's putting it mildly. Four betas, two dead, one by your own hand, another defected to another, better Alpha and one who only stuck with you because you were her brother, and you basically screwed her over too. You know, I knew Isaac was drifting closer to Scott, especially after you kicked him out. I was going to join him, but you had to go and kill me. Were you that afraid of being alone that you'd rather kill me than let me abandon you too?" he demanded, and Derek shook his head.

"Boyd, no, it wasn't like that!" he insisted and Boyd scoffed.

"Really? So, you're telling me that you, crown prince of Beacon Hills, heir to Talia Hale, a world respected Alpha, doesn't resent the fact that some bitten kid has become a much better werewolf, leader and Alpha than you ever were?" Boyd challenged, and Derek opened his mouth to respond, but, halfway through the action, he changed his mind, closing it again.

Tried though he might, he had begun to slightly resent Scott. It was nothing to do with Scott, it was mainly due to his own shortcomings as an Alpha, and it was clear that despite being this goofy, dorky kid, Scott actually was a natural born leader. Scott inspired loyalty through example, not just by rank like he had. He had seen it, not so much in Erica, but in Boyd and obviously in Isaac, the two of them had respected him, and preferred to follow his lead rather than the lead of their Alpha. He knew it was more to do with him and his own shortcomings, but what Boyd had said was right. He did resent Scott. Scott had always been a better person than him, he'd admitted that quite happily from the start. But did that mean he had to be a better Alpha too? Boyd was right, he knew he was losing his pack, Isaac in particular, even before Scott had even known he was an Alpha, he was losing all three of them, in fact, he was willing to bet that if Scott hadn't been so close to Allison, and hence Gerard and Jackson, then he probably would have lost his pack a lot earlier than he had done.

So yeah, he did resent Scott a little for that, but really, could he be blamed for that?

"Ok, maybe I do, but that has nothing to do with what happened between us!" Derek insisted, and Boyd snorted derisively.

"Really? See, I think it is. You were never fit to be an Alpha, even Peter was a better one than you, at least his beta survived, and oh wait, he's the one who stole the last member of your pack because you got everyone else killed!" Boyd roared and leapt at Derek, claws plunging right for his chest.

Derek snarled and danced out of the way, smacking Boyd away with him, his blood pounding in his head with anger. He didn't want to be goaded by what Boyd was saying, but so much of it rang true, his failure, getting Boyd and Erica killed, driving Isaac away, and Scott swooping in and basically cleaning up his mess, he was right to be angry, what right did that little kid have to usurp his pack? Angrily gnashing his teeth, Derek caught Boyd's arm as he tried to rip open his throat.

"I'm sorry I killed you, but you're dead! I can't change that, and neither can you, so go back to whatever place you came from!" Derek roared, and Boyd snarled in challenge.

"Not until you're dead!" he bellowed, his claws going right for Derek's face, and Derek flipped backwards, cursing a little as the towel fell off mid flight, managing to avoid the attack but losing his modesty in the process.

"Huh, not surprised." Boyd grunted, sounding unimpressed as he looked down, and Derek blinked, well, yeah he was back to kill him but seriously, that was below the belt, literally.

"Boyd, this isn't you..." Derek tried one last time, and Boyd sneered at him.

"How would you know, seeing as you killed me before I ever really lived?" he challenged, and leapt at Derek, claws going right for his jugular.

Derek snarled in response, catching his attack before he could do any damage, kicking him away from him while Boris stirred on the floor. Realising he now had to end this quickly, Derek deftly avoided another attack before ripping his claws up through Boyd's bulging muscles, kicking his former Beta in the chest and sending him sprawling. Boyd roared in frustration, somersaulting to his feet and was about to spring again when a bullet rang out, forcing the other wolf to turn and behold this new intruder.

"Stand down!" Parrish ordered, his gun levelled at Boyd, and Boyd gave an annoyed snarl and bounded up the corridor, hammering his fist into Parrish's head as he passed. As Parrish slammed into the wall and dropped down unconscious, Derek breathed heavily, wrapping his towel back around him to preserve his modesty as a grumbling Boris got back to his feet.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded irritably, before spotting the unconscious Parrish and hurrying over to his side to check up on him.

Derek narrowed his eyes as he looked at where Boyd had disappeared. That had been powerful dark energy, no question about it. Something, or someone, had brought Boyd back, and he was quite rightly pissed about his untimely demise. Boyd had always been strong, but when Derek had been fighting him it was like he was even stronger than usual, driven by some other power that he had never had before. There was no way Boyd had come back under his own steam, which meant that someone had brought him back.

He scowled as Boris tried to rouse Parrish, guilt beginning to flood him. Boyd's words, they'd affected him. The stuff Boyd had said about his shortcomings as an Alpha, fair enough they were all true. But the stuff he had said about his resentment of Scott, well, perhaps they were truer than he would like to admit. Scott was better than him, and Scott had clearly won the loyalty of his last remaining Beta even before they had started sleeping together. His leadership had never been particularly inspired, that much was true, but deep down, he truly did resent Scott, if only a little. Shaking his head, his mind abuzz with everything that Boyd had said, and wondering just who or what had brought him back, Derek moved to help a groggy Parrish to his feet, guilt gnawing away at him due to the rebellious feelings against his Alpha going on inside his head.

XX

Upon hearing that Scott's suspicions had been right and that Boyd had indeed been sent after Derek, and an amused sheriff telling Scott that while he had been knocked out, Parrish had been more than happy to be tended to by Mikaela, the two druids had left, and Scott had begged his mother to allow the pack to stay the night. While Melissa and Allegra had been less than happy with this development, Scott looked so worried and so tired that Melissa had put up little resistance, and after a stark warning that she would tolerate no funny business from any of them (looking pointedly at Stiles and Malia as she did so, who were both too preoccupied to even notice), she had agreed. With the place now full of werewolves and other animals, Allegra found herself with a house full of teenagers that weren't even hers.

"You see what we mean about Deaton?" Melissa asked as they shared one last cup of tea in the kitchen, the only place that did not have pack squatters sleeping in it for the night.

"Yes, I can see that he could be potentially dodgy yes dear. You do realise, we still have no clue what on earth is going on." She said darkly, eyeing the door that had been used by a dead man to break the fingers of his terrified son in distaste.

Melissa gave her a wan smile.

"Hey, look on the bright side, at least you get to escape the craziness, I'm stuck with it sadly." She lamented, and Allegra looked at her worriedly.

"Are you sure you want me to go home, it's no bother if you want me to stay darling." She said kindly, and Melissa bit her lip, seriously considering it.

After all, if the supernatural bad guys were again on the march, she could do with the support, her mother could do all the worrying and she could focus on other things. But no, if, as it seemed, there was some other new creature in town determined to cause havoc, she couldn't let her mother remain behind and deal with that.

"No. No, you're safer back in San Francisco." She said sadly, and Allegra allowed herself a small smile.

"Really? Have you seen some of the nutjobs who live in my neighbourhood? Alright, if you're sure. But I will talk to the boys before I leave." She promised, and Melissa nodded.

"Good, thanks mom. Especially with Scott going the way he did earlier." She said, frowning a little and Allegra sighed.

"Dear...you remember, every time I shot someone, I had to go for a psych evaluation?" she asked, and Melissa nodded.

"Yeah, but what's that got to do anything?" she asked, and Allegra gave her a small smile.

"I only used my gun to kill someone when I really had no other choice. It's a hard thing, deciding to take a life. What we saw with Scott, to me, was the equivalent. He was determined to stop a monster who had hurt someone he loved very much. He might not have a gun to shoot people with, but to protect the ones he cares about, basically everybody in this house right now, and most of all that boy he's cuddling in bed, that boy who is so far from alright it's not possible, and my beautiful daughter beside me, he will do anything to protect them. That was what we saw." She advised her daughter, who smiled a little proudly, bid her mother goodnight, and headed for the stairs.

Allegra sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes. It was all very well being clued into the supernatural, but suddenly learning everything else that was going along with it, well, that wasn't entirely filling her with confidence. While the revenant situation had been dealt with for the time being, and permanently (hopefully) in the case of Jennifer and Malia's mother, there was still so much they didn't know. Scott said he had an idea on how to get more information, but after they had learned that Derek too had been attacked, the fight had largely gone out of them, and as a result of the day they'd had, they had all been dozing off anyway.

She smiled humourlessly. Tomorrow was going to be a busy morning, what with debating on whists, revenants, the Pombero and the flying thing that had attacked Aiden, along with Derek's situation and of course, the mastermind behind all of this.

She stretched, peeking her head into the living room on her was past. The twins were at one end of the sofa, Ethan's head resting on Aiden's shoulder, both of them fast asleep. Malia had curled up around Stiles in the chair he had been sitting in, but it was clear that he was having a dream of some sort, the way he was fidgeting (mind you, he'd always been a fidgety child, once managing to wriggle his way out of a nappy, and Allegra was dumbfounded to this day as to how he had done it). Lydia and Kira were asleep on the other sofa, Kira acting as a barrier between Jackson and Lydia, Jackon's head tilted back as he slept, and, to Allegra's amusement, a sleeping Danny had his arm across Jackson's waist, as if he was trying to hug him.

Hoping she would be awake in time to see his reaction to that, Allegra made a last check that the door was shut and was about to climb the stairs when she saw her grandson sitting on the middle step, his arms wrapped around his knees, looking miserable.

One last job before bed then.

"Budge up boyo." She ordered, setting herself down beside her grandson, who's brown eyes looked so lost and alone that she couldn't help but pity them.

"Do you think I'm a monster grandma?" he asked quietly, speaking into his knees, so much so that Allegra was glad they weren't sitting in opposite positions.

"Of course I don't." She said simply, and he looked at her desperately.

"But, what I did to Isaac's father..." he began, but Allegra cut him off with a shake of her head.

"That man...from everything else you've told me, for a start, the evil bastard had it coming, even before he came back and tortured Isaac the way he did earlier. But Scott...this is what you need to understand. I know, from what the twins were saying, that you aren't like most other Alphas. From what they've said, most Alphas seem to be more than content to kill a few people. I've known you all your life, and I never once saw you kill anything, let alone consider killing anybody...the unfortunate cowboys and Indians incident with Stiles aside," she admitted, and Scott grinned a little at the memory, "you are the boy who once cried because I accidentally stood on a bee. You are not a killer darling." She assured him, but Scott still didn't look convinced.

"But I wanted to kill him." He said, and Allegra patted his knee.

"Of course you did. If you didn't want to kill him for doing what he did to someone you loved, I would certainly think less of you. You remember how once upon a time, your dear old granddad sat you down and gave you the talk about responsibility?" she asked, and Scott nodded.

"Yeah, it wasn't long before he died, he told me that if I was the only guy in the family, I had to look out for you and mom." He said, and she smiled fondly.

"Yes, well, the fact that I could kick his ass with my hands tied behind my back notwithstanding," she said, and Scott sniggered, "this is the same thing. Down there is a group of kids, who look up to you, respect you, and love you. Even, an obnoxious little shit though he is, Jackson, has some measure of respect for you. All of them, Jackson, the twins, Lydia, Kira, Malia, Danny...Scott, I still hardly know most of the people in the room, and I can tell that any one of them would do anything for you. Those people are your responsibility. You are their leader, their Alpha. It's your job to protect them, to look out for them. If any of them was in danger, would you do any less for them?" she asked softly, and with no hesitation, Scott nodded.

"Course I would." He assured her, and she smiled.

"Exactly. On top of that, while you clearly love all of them there are two other members of your pack who you would go even beyond that for. If someone threatened Stiles, or Isaac, and you had the choice, either to let them potentially hurt them again, or to end their threat altogether, what would you do?" she posed, and he shrugged.

"Make sure they didn't hurt them." He answered, and Allegra nodded.

"Exactly. When someone we love is in danger, we find that we can and would do things that we would ordinarily never would of believed we could do. Lahey threatened Isaac, and considering the damage he had already done and how much you love Isaac, well, threatening him was never going to be a good move. You weren't a monster with what you did to him sweetheart. You were a man, who was doing the right thing. You were someone who was protecting someone he loved. You acted as anyone else would, someone you loved was in danger, so you responded accordingly. Isaac was in pain, hurt, terrified, and he was the one who had caused Isaac to be that way, so you did what you needed to do, to make sure that he never hurt Isaac again." She assured him, squeezing his hand, and he did look slightly more cheerful.

"But, I've never felt like that before grandma, so angry, so vicious...like, like a monster. Like Peter, or Deucalion." He lamented, and Allegra nodded wisely.

"I see. But, these two Alphas who you're so determined not to be like, why did they kill people?" she asked, and Scott shrugged.

"Peter wanted revenge, and Deucalion wanted power." He answered, and she nodded, smiling.

"Exactly. Whereas if you killed, really killed, not just destroyed some revenant, I highly doubt you would kill for either of those reasons. You would kill to save someone you loved. And that makes you very different from both of them pumpkin." She assured him and he grinned at her.

"Thanks grandma. This is why mom wanted you here isn't it? To talk to us?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Well, it can't hurt. But since we're on the subject...is there anything else you want to talk about?" she asked shrewdly, scrutinising him closely.

He hesitated, trying to think. He knew what she was really asking about, she was asking about if he was coping with Allison dying. But, how did he put what he felt across?

"You mean Allison?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Are you ok?" she asked kindly, and he bit his lip, considering his answer.

"I'm not happy she's dead, and I still can't believe she's gone. I mean, I tried so hard to save her...but I just couldn't. It's not like Aiden, I could save him, I just felt helpless, powerless, to save her. But...I mean, it still bothers me, I still have nightmares about it, but does it make me a bad person? Isaac, he still blames himself, you saw Stiles, he does too. But, is it wrong that I don't blame myself for her dying? You know what I mean? I don't blame myself, I know it's not my fault she died, it's my fault I couldn't save her. You see what I'm saying?" he asked hopefully, and she considered her answer, because, strangely enough and garbled though it was (after all, she had seen his English grades), it did make sense.

"Yes honey. You're saying that Isaac and Stiles, and Lydia too probably, blame themselves for her being killed, they think it was their fault that she died that night. You on the other hand, you blame yourself for not being able to save her, that it's your fault she's dead. But...what you need to understand is, these things happen. There's no one to blame, the only one to blame is this Obi who stabbed her." She counselled grimly, and Scott quirked an eyebrow.

"Oni, not Obi. Just because you have a crush on Ewan McGregor." He chided and she shrugged.

"I know who I meant. My point is sweetheart, none of you should blame yourselves. It was a tragedy, yes, but no one person is to blame. And, you're right, I see that Stiles in particular is blaming himself. So my dear, what you need to do is?" she asked, and Scott smiled.

"Help him."

"That's my boy. I will say this though...you've become a fine young man, and with what you've done, with your pack, how loyal they are to you, all of it, well I know one thing for sure. Your grandfather would be very proud of you." She told him fondly, and he smiled.

"And for that matter, so am I." She said, kissing his forehead and then groaning as she pulled herself to her feet, her bones grinding.

"That sounded sore." Scott said, looking at her with sympathy as he hopped up as if it was perfectly natural.

"Well, you're the one who sat there hence it's your fault. Now come on buster, there's a house full of people here who would kill for a bed, and you are one of the ones lucky enough to have one, so get to it. Besides, I think that attractive young boyfriend of yours could do with waking up with you cuddling him, so scat." She chided fondly, and Scott smiled and nodded.

"Ok grandma. Hey, how do you know I like to cuddle him?" he asked, and she smiled.

"Your grandfather did me...silly old fool, sneaking up on me like he did." She grumbled and he laughed, remembering that.

"Yeah, he wound up with a black eye and you had a broken thumb didn't he?" he sniggered and she sighed in annoyance.

"Well yes, well really, I didn't expect him to be in, what would you have done if some lunatic came up and grabbed you from behind?" she complained while Scott laughed.

"I still remember the phone call, mom was poorless." He giggled and she sighed in annoyance.

"Hmph. Come on you, bed." She ordered and he nodded, climbing the stairs, and as Allegra persuaded herself to move, he had reached the top, so she called him back.

"Scott?" she called, and he turned back to look at her.

"Yeah?"

She gave him a fond smile.

"I rarely approved of any of the boys your mother brought home...in fact one of the few I did was actually a girl...but I do approve of Isaac. You mind him, you hear me? He's a keeper." She told him, her finger pointed at him.

"Course I will. Night grandma. Thanks." He told her warmly, heading into his room while Allegra, feeling she had earned at least half her keep, hauled herself up the stairs.

Entering his room, and feeling better than he had since he had saved Isaac from his dead father, Scott looked at where Isaac was curled up in the covers, looking as if he was just sleeping normally, and wasn't sound asleep due to a drug induced slumber. Scott approached him, casting off his tshirt as he did so, squatting down beside Isaac as he slept. He gently stroked Isaac's quiff, then used his thumb to remove a dried in tear track from his boyfriend's pale face.

"He can't hurt you anymore. And even if he does somehow come back, I won't let him hurt you. He won't hurt you ever again ok? I promise. I love you." He whispered and gently kissed Isaac's forehead lovingly.

He stood up, and stripped off his jeans and socks, before climbing into bed beside Isaac. How could someone who was wrapped up in the entire duvet manage to be cold? Rolling his eyes in affection, Scott cuddled in close to Isaac, wrapping his arm around Isaac's cool stomach and bringing him in close, before pressing a kiss to Isaac's tattoo, and then to his neck, before snuggling in to sleep, his mind buzzing with everything that was still to come.

**And I'm back! Apologies for how long this chapter took, between a bit of writer's block, losing faith in humanity, overtime and whatnot, it took me far longer than it should have done but now we're back to normal with any luck, and the action will start soon I promise!**

**So, we know what the attackers were, revenants, but theyre not entirely the people we knew and loved, or loathed in some cases. But that raises the question, why were they brought back? Just what was the intention? And their short visit caused a lot of problems for many of the pack, so will they continue to have an effect upon the pack?**

**And Derek has a little bit of resentment towards Scott, he is only human after all, but will this resentment remain quiet or will it come to the fore? And more to the point, he was just attacked in prison again, he really doesnt have any luck does he? And just who is in prison with him?**

**Next chapter, Jackson gets wet, Allegra should finally go home (mind you i promised that weeks ago and she's still here, our adorable little lacrosse player makes a return and Agravaine prepares to make his move**

**As always, please read and review, follow, favourite etc, apologies again for the delay, and if you head onto deviantart, under the same profile youll find little story tidbits in the two arts I've posted. And dont forget to vote in the poll if you havent already!**

**Until next time, please read and review!**


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